Darwin Nunez To Liverpool? The Latest Reports and NewsThe past few days have been a whirlwind of activity for Liverpool F.C in the transfer market.
On Monday, Bayern Munich made their first (and extremely ambitious) attempt to prize Sadio Mane away from Liverpool with a lowly £25m bid, which was, of course, instantly rejected.
Also on Monday/Tuesday Liverpool have closed in on signing teenage sensation Calvin Ramsey from Aberdeen. The 18-year-old right-back looks set to join The Reds in a £4m deal, providing cover for Liverpool's right side for (hopefully) many years to come. Quite a coup for Julian Ward.
But, understandably, the biggest news coming out of Merseyside is that of Darwin Nunez.
Throughout the week rumours and reports such as price tags, clubs' interest and player preferences have all been mentioned, but significant news broke today (Wednesday) regarding the future of the 22-year-old prolific goal-scorer.
In the early hours of the morning Record Portugal (an outlet who are usually fairly reliable when reporting on the Portuguese league) claimed that Liverpool are willing to make Nunez the club's most expensive signing ever.
It is worth noting that the Portuguese outlet were early to break Bruno Fernandes to United, João Félix to Atletico, and Ronaldo to Juventus.
Later in the morning Paul Joyce, writing for The Times, stated that the Liverpool interest is genuine, and Nunez is keen on joining Liverpool; with Benfica wanting a reported £85m, the deal will come down to whether an appropriate price can be met.
When it comes to reliability, Paul Joyce is usually the man in the top-tier in terms of Merseyside news. With that in mind, this recent development would certainly have been music to the Liverpool faithful's ears.
Journalist Dominic King (Daily Mail) went on to report that Liverpool would 'smash their transfer record' in order to sign the Uruguayan gunman. Another interesting development, considering The Reds' current transfer record fee sits at £75m and with Virgil van Dijk.
The fact Liverpool are looking to surpass this amount may suggest that an offer £75m+ could be inbound.
The Mirror's Dave Maddock also confirmed the news but did mention that other clubs are interested too, which could prove a sticking point for The Reds if the likes of Manchester United and Atletico Madrid offer a better fee to Benfica.
It is worth noting that Benfica paid around £19m for Nunez in 2020 and his former club, Almeria, are due a 20% sell-on fee from his departure.
Liverpool will have a valuation for Darwin Nunez and as journalists James Pearce, David Lynch and Paul Joyce all state, Liverpool will not be drawn into a bidding war. It is also worth mentioning Liverpool have said they are still looking at other targets too.
Jurgen Klopp has already expressed that he is a huge admirer of Nunez, saying last season ‘He (Nunez) was physically strong, quick, was calm around his finish. Good, really good. I always say in these situations if he is healthy, it’s a big career ahead of him.’
There are many hurdles to overcome before this transfer can be anywhere near completion. Liverpool have been told it will take £85m to sign Darwin Nunez, Julian Ward will no doubt want to negotiate that fee to be slightly less.
Benfica though, are adamant they will not lower the price, they have valued Nunez, a sought after commodity and a man who scored 36 goals this season, at £85m.
It could come down to Nunez himself; if he is indeed set on playing his football for Liverpool next year, he would have to reject the chance(s) of playing for anyone else, perhaps forcing Benfica's hand to accept a Liverpool bid instead.
Nunez has claimed he wished to play Champions League football which will not be the case if he signs with Eric Ten Hag's United side, who are more likely to offer a better financial package to both club and player.
This is a very fast-moving saga, at the time of writing it looks positive for Liverpool in securing what could be their biggest ever transfer in terms of a transfer fee. As a way, the sticking point will come down to whether or not Liverpool can agree a fee with Benfica.
Keep your eyes on Bayern too: Sadio Mane and his departure is pivotal, any money raised from his sale would surely be factored into the Nunez fee.
It is a big few days for Liverpool Football Club, an even bigger few days for Julian Ward.
https://www.si.com/soccer/liverpool/transfers/darwin-nunez-to-liverpool
