Tottenham Hotspur finally landed a new striker over the summer, bringing in Benfica’s Carlos Vinicius as competition for Harry Kane.
Vinicius arrives on loan for the season with a view to a permanent deal, and has already shown some promising signs.
Kane has needed real competition for some time now, and Vinicius will hopefully prove to be the man for the job long-term – though one player Tottenham allegedly turned down is thriving.
The Daily Mail reported in September that Jose Mourinho considered a deal for Darwin Nunez, but chose against signing the Uruguayan and went for Vinicius instead.
The irony is that Nunez left Almeria to join Benfica, which then freed up Vinicius to join Spurs, and the 21-year-old has excelled since his €24milion (£21.5million).
Nunez has bagged four goals and five assists in nine appearances for Benfica, impressing as a physical and mobile striker with impressive link-up play.
Now, ESPN report that Barcelona are ramping up their interest in signing Nunez, viewing him as Luis Suarez’s long-term successor having considered him over the summer.
Benfica can now expect to land a huge profit on Nunez, and Barcelona’s interest just goes to show what a talent he appears to be having made the jump up from Spain’s second division.
Maybe Vinicius will prove to be exactly what Spurs need, but Benfica already being on course for a huge profit on Nunez may leave some ruing Mourinho’s decision to look elsewhere.
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