Liverpool Reportedly Ready to Pay Record Transfer Fee for Darwin Núñez

With Sadio Mané expected to join Bayern Munich if the Germans can cobble together an acceptable fee for the 30-year-old Ballon d’Or candidate, Liverpool are in need of a forward and all signs point to their number one target being Benfica’s Darwin Núñez.

The 22-year-old Uruguayan had a breakout season with Benfica—both domestically and in Europe, including in his games against the Reds—this past year, scoring 34 goals and four assists in 41 appearances, giving the young star a goal involvement every 74 minutes.

Those numbers along with the player’s raw talent and that he still has plenty of room to grow has Benfica setting a high price tag of €100M (£85M), which for some Liverpool fans seemed reason to doubt he was a legitimate target for the often value-seeking Reds.

However, the transfer story has moved quickly today and it appears that Liverpool are in fact willing to pay that kind of a price for Núñez in a transfer that would serve as a major statement of intent and see Núñez eclipse Virgil van Dijk as the club’s record signing.

There are now even a smattering of reports out of Portugal that while an official bid has not been lodged, a proposal has been made that would see the Reds pay around €80M as a base fee plus a further €20M in add-ons. Núñez is said to favour a move to Liverpool.

Previously reports of Manchester United interest have faded quickly this week as stories of Liverpool interest broke, and with how quickly the story has begun to move it would not be a shock if there were further major developments to report over the next few days.