Benfica striker and Liverpool transfer target, Darwin Nunez has left Uruguay’s national team to finalize his transfer processes with Liverpool.
This is coming just before Uruguay’s friendly match against Panama on Saturday night. Note that after the end of the 2021-2022 season, Darwin has been with the Uruguayan team but had to leave because of Liverpool.
He was part of the team that played against Mexico and the USA but won’t be available for the game against Panama. Multiple sources report that the Uruguayan striker has agreed personal terms with the six times Champions League winners, Liverpool.
The Reds have always been in touch with Darwin Nunez’s agents. Both Liverpool and Benfica are yet to decide on an official transfer fee for the 22-year-old. But Benfica are insisting that their valuation for Darwin won’t change.
In 2020, Darwin Nunez was with Almeria which is a team in the Spanish second tier before moving to Benfica. According to Benfica, Darwin Nunez will cost Liverpool €80 million-plus add-ons of around €20 million. However, Liverpool are trying to see if the fee will be reduced to around €70 million.
The Reds are also ready to sign Darwin Nunez for a club record fee of €80 million. Completion of the deal will make it one of the biggest transfer deals of the summer.
Other teams have shown interest in Darwin but Liverpool seems to be the favorite destination for the Uruguayan forward. Manchester United was close to landing Darwin but was seen off by Liverpool’s competition.
It is believed that Darwin Nunez wants to continue playing in the Champions League and have an opportunity to compete for the Premier League trophy.
Manchester United won’t be participating in the next Champions League and their recent Premier League records haven’t been challenging enough.
Although the final deal and fee haven’t been reached between Liverpool and Benfica for Darwin Nunez, the transfer is expected to be completed soonest.
As it stands, it is a matter of time before every detail of the deal will be sealed. Liverpool are pursuing Darwin because they see him as a good replacement for Sadio Mane who is prepared to leave this summer.
After the Champions League final last season, Mane revealed that he wants to leave Liverpool and he is most likely to join Bayern Munich.
Before Liverpool became a frontrunner, Darwin attracted teams from Europe after he had an amazing breakout season with the Portuguese giants in the 2021/22 season.
He scored a total of 34 goals for Benfica in all competitions. His stats made him one of the most promising young stars in modern football.
