Liverpool are considering making an offer for Benfica striker Darwin Núñez, who the Portuguese club value at 100 million euros (£ 85.5 million).
The Uruguayan international scored 34 goals for Benfica last season in all competitions, including goals in both games of the club’s defeat in the quarter-finals of the Champions League against Liverpool in April.
Jurgen Klopp’s side have not made any offers for Núñez, but Manchester United are also fans of the 22-year-old.
Liverpool, however, are unprepared to enter a bidding war for the striker and will not pay the player’s odds.
Núñez is also one of the many strikers Liverpool are looking at this summer, with doubts about the future of Sadio Mane and Mohamed Salah.
Image: Núñez celebrates Benfica’s goal at Anfield
Mane is wanted by German champions Bayern Munich after the Senegal striker refused to commit to Liverpool beyond next season.
The 30-year-old has one year left on his contract and joked that most Senegalese people want him to leave Anfield.
Salah also has a year left on his contract with Liverpool, but before the Champions League final defeat to Real Madrid last month he announced that he will stay at Merseyside for at least one more season.
The creation of Darwin Núñez
He meets Darwin Núñez, the Uruguayan striker who wants to take a big step forward for Benfica, and his former coaches support him to star in the Premier League.
Sky Sports feature film writer Adam Bate talks to those who have followed his journey from the beginning to find out more.
What positions is Liverpool heading this summer?
Vinny O’Connor, Sky Sports News reporter:
Liverpool will look to strengthen their front line this season. The fact that they have even spoken to Kylian Mbappe shows their intention to add more quality to the top.
It makes sense for Mohamed Salah and Roberto Firmino to enter the final year of their contracts, while the possible departure of Sadio Mane, who also has one year left on his contract, and Divock Origi, who has already decided to leave, means that reinforcements in this area are a priority. If Mane leaves, Liverpool will only be looking to do business for more than the € 30 million they have been quoted and would like a replacement to be arranged before allowing him to leave.
With Fabio Carvalho officially starting his Liverpool career on July 1, any new midfield review could depend on the future of Alex Oxlade Chamberlain and Takumi Minamino. Oxlade Chamberlain made 29 appearances in a 63-match season and has not played since the FA Cup victory over Forest in March, while Minamino only made 24 appearances and both could look for more regular first-team opportunities. Oxlade Chamberlain is another player with only one year on his contract.
Strengthening the bottom line doesn’t seem to be a priority, as Ibrahima Konate offers another option to Joel Matip and Virgil van Dijk, while Joe Gomez is able to cover the right side and center.
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