Liverpool have reached an agreement for the transfer of Benfica striker Darwin Núñez in a deal worth up to 100 million euros (£ 85 million).
The Portuguese club, who announced the deal early on Monday morning, say Liverpool will pay an initial € 75 million (£ 64 million), with add-ons worth € 25 million.
Benfica’s statement said: “In the early hours of Monday morning (0.44am), Sport Lisboa e Benfica – Futebol, SAD informed the Securities Market Commission (CMVM) that it had reached an agreement with Liverpool. FC for the sale of all rights to the player Darwin Nuñez, for an amount of 75 million euros.
“At the CMVM, Benfica’s SAD also reported that ‘the agreement provides for the payment of a variable remuneration, so that the overall amount of the sale could reach 100 million euros’.
“In addition, it is reported that this agreement depends on the signing of the player’s sports employment contract with Liverpool FC,” the official document further explained.
Once that deal is met, it will break Liverpool’s previous transfer record, which was the purchase of £ 75 million from Virgil van Dijk in Southampton in January 2018.
The transfer is subject to the 22-year-old Uruguayan international agreeing personal terms with Liverpool and completing a medical examination, which is expected to take place on Monday.
Núñez, who was also interested in Manchester United, wants to leave for Liverpool and is ready to sign a five-year contract.
Liverpool football director Julian Ward was in Portugal to get the line crossed while negotiating the structure of the deal.
Núñez scored 34 goals for Benfica last season in all competitions, including goals in the two games of the club’s defeat in the quarter-finals of the Champions League against Liverpool in April.
Liverpool were unprepared to enter a bidding war over their number one transfer target, despite doubts about the future of Sadio Mane and Mohamed Salah, and moved quickly to beat their rivals until the signing.
Mane is wanted by German champions Bayern Munich after the Senegal striker refused to commit to Liverpool beyond next season.
Image: Núñez scored in both quarterfinal matches of the Benfica Champions League with Liverpool
Salah also has a year left on his contract with Liverpool, but before last month’s Champions League final defeat to Real Madrid he announced that he will stay at Merseyside for at least one more season.
The view from Portugal: how good is Darwin Núñez?
Portuguese football expert Pedro Sepúlveda speaking to Sky Sports News:
“Darwin Núñez was one of the best players in the Portuguese league by far this season. The other was Luis Díaz who moved to Liverpool in January and that made Núñez the absolute best player.
“Benfica finished the season in third place and did not get a direct place in the Champions League, but in 41 games, Núñez scored 34 goals and recorded four assists, so you are talking about one of the best strikers.
“He’s a ‘modern football striker’ – like Erling Haaland and Kylian Mbappe – forwards who don’t just focus on scoring goals. They focus on playing for the team and making the whole team play well. That’s why we’re talking about ‘€ 100 m.
“Núñez’s biggest flaw – or the worst point – is his psychological game. He didn’t score many goals in the 2020/21 season. He played 44 games and only scored 14. The fans criticized him a bit. and the first thing he did was start suspending his social media, blocking people and not reading the comments, which shows that he doesn’t deal well with criticism when things start to go wrong, and in England, the price is first that people will talk about when they don’t start scoring goals.
“When you talk about a player like Darwin Núñez, you think of a typical new number playing inside the penalty area. But he can easily play to break spaces for other players in central areas if the teams need him. It’s very good deal for Liverpool, who already used the Portuguese league with Luis Diaz in a massive transfer of Liverpool that the end deserved completely.
“In the hands of Jurgen Klopp, Darwin may be one of the best strikers in the world. He is currently not one of the best strikers because he does not play in the top five leagues. leagues of the world “.