Tottenham Hotspur and Southampton missed out on Darwin Nunez, and his Benfica coach Jorge Jesus is convinced that the striker’s next move will see him overtake Joao Felix as the most expensive export in their history, as he told SportTV.
The 21-year-old Uruguayan has been compared to Edinson Cavani throughout his time on the continent and, during Benfica’s Europa League opener on Thursday night, he produced a hat-trick Manchester United’s new number seven would have been proud of.
Nunez leapt like the proverbial salmon to power home a header before weaving away from the Lech Poznan defence to slam home a ruthless second.
His first-ever hat-trick on European soil came in stoppage time as the Portuguese giants secured a 4-2 win. And the stunning performance has Jesus convinced that Felix’s place in Benfica’s history will soon be under threat.
“We must not forget that he is a kid, he is 21 years old, there is a lot about the game that he does not know yet. He will learn with me and Benfica,” Jesus said, claiming that Nunez will eventually leave the Estadio da Luz for more than the £113 million Atletico Madrid paid for Felix, as translated by Goal.
“All this decision-making ability, finishing and speed…He was Benfica’s most expensive purchase and, when there is no pandemic, he will be the most expensive sale. He will be a world-class player.
“Unfortunately for me, maybe I will lose him in a short time.”
Tottenham and Southampton showed an interest on the back of Nunez’s exceptional performances at Almeria in the Spanish second tier (Football London and Calciomercato).
Le Voz de Almeria also linked Sheffield United and Brighton with the penalty-box poacher.
But if Benfica really are demanding more than £100 million for their new goal-scoring hero sooner rather than later, Nunez will be out of reach for all but the moneyed elite of European football.
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