Soccer

Liverpool agree club-record deal of €100m to sign Darwin Núñez

Benfica striker, who is due to undergo medical on Monday, signs six-year contract with Premier League club

Darwin Nunez was described by Jurgen Klopp as 'physically strong, quick, plus calm around his finish' after the sides met in Champions League this year. Photograph: Patricia de Melo Moreira/AFP via Getty Images
Darwin Nunez was described by Jurgen Klopp as 'physically strong, quick, plus calm around his finish' after the sides met in Champions League this year. Photograph: Patricia de Melo Moreira/AFP via Getty Images
Fabrizio Romano and Sachin Nakrani
Sun Jun 12 2022 - 15:57

Darwin Núñez is due in England on Monday to take his medical after Liverpool sealed a €100 million agreement with Benfica to sign the striker.

Liverpool will pay a guaranteed €80 million and up to another €20 million in add-ons. Núñez was in Almería on Sunday, where he played before joining Benfica, and is scheduled to fly from Spain to England.

The 22-year-old Uruguay international has agreed a six-year contract with Liverpool and will become the most expensive player in the club’s history, his fee surpassing the £75 million (€88 million) paid to acquire Virgil van Dijk from Southampton in January 2018.

Núñez was the top scorer in Portugal in the 2021-22 season with 26 league goals and scored 34 in total. He also scored in each leg of Benfica’s Champions League quarter-final tie with Liverpool in April, and following the first leg in Lisbon he was showered with praise by Jürgen Klopp.

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“Extremely good-looking boy, eh? And a decent player as well. Really good, really good, you have to say,” the Liverpool manager said. “I knew before, of course, but he played pretty much in front of me with his tough battles with [Ibrahima] Konaté.

“Physically strong, quick, plus calm around his finish, when he finished the goal off he was really calm,” Klopp said. “Good, really, really good. How we say in these situations, if he stays healthy, it’s a big career ahead of him.”

Núñez’s career will now involve a spell on Merseyside as Klopp continues the process of refreshing his side. The striker, who has 11 caps and two goals for his country, will feature in the centre of Liverpool’s front line, with Luis Díaz more often than not playing to his left and Mohamed Salah to his right.

Sadio Mané, meanwhile, continues to be linked with a move to Bayern Munich while Roberto Firmino has essentially become a squad player. The Portugal forward Diogo Jota is also part of the mix from an attacking point of view.

Núñez’s arrival could also see Klopp shift Liverpool’s go-to formation from 4-3-3 to 4-2-3-1 given his capabilities, and record, as a more conventional number nine than the club has had in recent years.

Núñez will be Liverpool’s second signing of the close season following Fábio Carvalho’s arrival from Fulham. And there could shortly be a third after the Premier League and Champions League runners-up submitted a £4 million (€4.6 million) bid for Aberdeen’s Calvin Ramsay.

Klopp has long been an admirer of the 18-year-old right-back and negotiations are ongoing regarding a transfer that would could also include £4 million in add-ons. An agreement is already in place with the player.

- Guardian