Benfica accept that Darwin Nunez may be sold in the summer with Premier League trio Arsenal, Liverpool and Tottenham Hotspur all potential destinations, coach Nelson Verissimo tells The Standard.
Shortly after signing the young Uruguayan from second-tier outfit Almeria in the summer of 2020, then-Benfica boss Jorge Jesus made a rather bold prediction.
Nunez, he said, would become a ‘world-class’ centre-forward, not to mention the most expensive export in Benfica’s history.
Jesus was convinced that the free-scoring centre-forward would leave Lisbon for a fee in excess of the £113 million Atletico Madrid paid for Joao Felix some 12 months earlier.
But if Jesus was right about Nunez blossoming into a ‘world class’ number nine – he’s scored 31 goals in 36 games this season and gave Liverpool no end of problems in the Champions League last week – then the veteran tactician was a little wide of the mark with his second point.
How much is that Darwin in the window?
According to The Sun, Benfica will consider offers in the region of £65 million. About half the fee they earned from Felix’s head-spinning switch to Madrid.
“It’s the law of the market,” Verissimo says ahead of Benfica’s quarter-final second leg at Anfield.
“Obviously players like Darwin, and the best players, the idea would be to keep them all. But we are in a competitive market in which clubs need capital for their daily management.
“At the end of the season, if he has to go, we have to accept it. It’s the law of realising that there are stronger markets. And, because of that, there are players that we cannot keep. Benfica is no exception to that.”
According to The Sun, Nunez’s representatives have concerns about a potential switch to Manchester City, viewing Arsenal, Tottenham and Liverpool as a better fit.
City, after all, have spent the whole of this season operating without a proper centre-forward. And Nunez – like fellow transfer target Erling Haaland – is something of a classic, throwback number nine.
West Ham reportedly made a £60 million bid for Nunez in January. Surely, if Benfica are really willing to accept £65 million, the Hammers can find another £5 million from somewhere.
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