Liverpool are closing in on Darwin Nunez but Manchester United are planning one last-ditch attempt to sign the Benfica striker.
The Reds look set to lose Sadio Mane this summer with the attacker angling for a move to Bayern Munich.
Liverpool understandably want to secure a replacement for Mane and are now closing in on their top target.
Jurgen Klopp’s men have been accelerating their pursuit of Benfica hitman Nunez and appear to be nearing a deal.
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Liverpool are closing in on Darwin Nunez
Record reported on Wednesday morning that Liverpool had offered a deal worth a club-record £85million for Nunez.
Presented with the chance to be like Luis Diaz in shining at Liverpool after conquering Portuguese football, Nunez is keen on the move.
The Uruguayan hit a ridiculous 34 goals and four assists in 41 games this past season, becoming one of the top young strikers around.
Nunez, 22, now seems ready for his big move – but Liverpool don’t quite have a deal over the line just yet.
SIC Noticias journalist Pedro Sepulveda has spoken to Sky Sports about Nunez’s future and has some interesting claims.
Sepulveda claims that Newcastle and Manchester United are both still chasing Nunez’s signature.
Sepulveda even states that Manchester United are planning to meet with Jorge Mendes today to try and ‘do something’ about Nunez.
United’s hopes aren’t completely over but they seem to be heading that way.
Sepulveda notes that Nunez is already thinking of playing for Liverpool, meaning the race may already be over – especially with Liverpool offering Champions League action.
“There are another two English clubs that are interested in him; Newcastle and Manchester United,” said Sepulveda. “The information that I have is that Benfica didn’t receive a formal bid from any of these clubs. But I still have the information that, today, Manchester United will have a meeting with Jorge Mendes, which is the new Darwin Nunez agent.”
“Manchester United knows that Benfica already received an official offer from Liverpool, and they want to sit with Jorge Mendes and try to see if they can still do something. This meeting is not happening in England, it is happening in another city in Europe.”
“The thing is, the player is already thinking about playing at Anfield so it will be so difficult to convince him to play for Newcastle or Manchester United because he wants to play in the Champions League and with Liverpool, he can do that,” he added.
Nunez is a physical striker, meaning Liverpool would be able to use Diaz and Mohamed Salah either side of him.
Yet having also played on the left wing for Benfica though, Nunez also gives Liverpool some versatility in their front line should the deal go through.
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