Nunez set for Liverpool move after Benfica confirm potential €100M deal

Liverpool are in the final stages of closing a deal for Darwin Nunez in a transfer that could see the Uruguayan become the club’s new record signing.

The 22-year-old forward is set to undergo a medical after Liverpool agreed to pay an initial €75-million fee to sign him from Benfica, the Portuguese club announced Monday.

That figure could rise to €100 million with add-ons, Benfica noted.

If the performance clauses are satisfied, Liverpool will end up paying more for Nunez than for their current club-record signing Virgil van Dijk, who the Reds acquired from Southampton in 2018 for £75 million.

Nunez’s medical may not be finished until Wednesday, as the promising young attacker will arrive in Madrid to undergo tests before putting pen to paper on a contract that will keep him at Anfield for the next six years.

Manchester United were in the mix to sign the coveted forward. Nunez said he prefers to play in the Champions League and has his heart set on joining Jurgen Klopp’s squad.

Initial talks with Nunez are understood to have begun during the Champions League quarterfinals – between Liverpool and Benfica – when Klopp and Van Dijk approached him, Joyce reports. Nunez scored twice over two legs against his future employers in a losing effort for Benfica.

Once the deal is complete, Benfica will be expected to pay Nunez’s former club Almeria 20% of any profit above the £20.4 million that they paid to sign him two years ago.

Last season, Nunez led Benfica and Portugal’s Primeira Liga with 26 league goals in 28 appearances. He also scored six in the Champions League and has two goals in 11 games for Uruguay.

Nunez’s arrival could coincide with the departure of prolific Reds scorer Sadio Mane, who has been heavily linked with a transfer to Bayern Munich. Liverpool have reportedly rejected two offers and won’t consider bids worth less than £40 million for the Senegalese star.