Manchester United and Chelsea are leading the race to sign SL Benfica forward Darwin Nunez. The Uruguayan is expected to leave Portugal this summer and is attracting interest from all over Europe.
As per The Athletic’s David Ornstein, Nunez has garnered plenty of attention from Europe’s top clubs following his stellar performances this season. He has netted 31 goals in 36 appearances across all competitions, including five in nine Champions League games – but the trio are leading the race for his signature.
The report says Benfica will let Nunez go for the right price, which, they believe, is in the region of 70 million euros. However, while Transfermarkt has capped the Uruguayan’s value at 40 million, Benfica manager Nelson Verissimo is hoping the club gets close to the figure that Atletico Madrid paid them for Joao Felix back in 2019 – an eye-watering 126 million.
Furthermore, despite his contract running until 2025, the head coach confirmed to the press Nunez will most likely leave the club at the end of this season or the next.
“It will be at the end of this season or the following season, depending on what he has shown, it is natural that it will arouse interest from other clubs and naturally there may be the time in which he goes.
“Now regarding numbers, I hope as a Benfica fan that he will go for numbers close to those that were Joao Felix’s numbers. Now it’s not for me to enter numbers on that field.”
Verissimo said.
Benfica signed Nunez from Spanish Segunda side Almeria in summer 2020 for a club-record 24 million euros fee. It took the forward time to settle into his new surroundings in Portugal, with Covid and injuries derailing much of his early-season momentum; Nunez finished the campaign with 14 goals from 44 games.
However, the Uruguayan has hit the ground running this year. His record stands at 31 goals from 36 fixtures, currently, with strikes in the Champions League against Barcelona, Ajax, and Liverpool turning eyes all across the continent.
The Benfica hierarchy wants to resolve Nunez’s future sooner rather than later and has earmarked the on-loan Boavista forward Petar Musa as his replacement for next season.
