Liverpool reach agreement with Benfica for Darwin Nunez

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scored 34 goals in 41 appearances for Benfica in all competitions last season

Liverpool have agreed to terms with Benfica to acquire Uruguay attacker Darwin Nunez, the Portuguese confirmed Sunday.

Benfica has agreed to a cost of £64 million, which could rise to £85 million with add-ons.

Nunez scored 34 goals in 41 appearances for Benfica in all competitions last season.

Liverpool’s record deal was the £75 million paid to sign Southampton center-back Virgil van Dijk in 2018.

Manchester United were also allegedly interested in signing Nunez, who cost Benfica 24 million euros (£20.5 million) when he signed from Almeria in 2020.

In 2021-22, the striker, who has 11 caps for Uruguay, scored 26 goals in 28 league games, 25 of which came in the 24 league games in which he started.

He also scored six goals in ten Champions League games last season, including two against Liverpool in the April quarter-finals.

Liverpool won the FA Cup and the Carabao Cup last season, finishing second in the Premier League and losing in the Champions League final.

Fabio Carvalho of Portugal, became Liverpool’s first acquisition of the summer transfer season in May, with the forward due to formally join from Fulham on July 1.

The Reds have turned down a £30 million bid from Bayern Munich for Senegal striker Sadio Mane, who, like the club’s Egyptian star Mohamed Salah, is scheduled to become a free agent next summer if a new contract cannot be agreed.

Brazil attacker Roberto Firmino has also entered the final year of his current contract, while Japan international Takumi Minamino is garnering interest from several clubs.