According to rumors, Liverpool is close to signing Darwin Nunez after agreeing to an £85 million deal with Benfica.
Julian Ward, Liverpool’s director of football, traveled to Portugal this weekend to begin negotiations with Benfica about a transfer for the Uruguayan attacker.
The Times reports that the Premier League team has agreed to pay €75 million (£64 million) up front, plus an additional £12.8 million in appearance incentives and £8.5 million in performance-related bonuses.
Nunez is set to undertake medical testing with Liverpool on Monday, and the attacker is anticipated to sign a six-year deal with the club.
According to the Times, both Jurgen Klopp and Virgil van Dijk played a key role in persuading Nunez to join Liverpool this summer.
Manchester United, Newcastle United, and Paris Saint-Germain had all expressed interest in the Uruguayan.
Nunez has just enjoyed his most successful season of his career with 34 goals goals in all competitions for Benfica.
He finished the campaign as the Primeira Liga’s top scorer with 26 goals but Benfica fell short in the title race as they ended up 17 points behind champions Porto.
Nunez scored in both legs of Benfica’s Champions League knockout-stage tie against Liverpool last season and Klopp was full of praise for the striker.
‘Extremely good-looking boy, eh? And a decent player as well. Really good, really good, you have to say,’ Klopp said in April.
‘I knew before, of course, but he played pretty much in front of me with his tough battles with Ibou Konate.
‘Physically strong, quick, plus calm around his finish, when he finished the goal off he was really calm.
‘Good, really, really good. How we say in these situations, if he stays healthy it’s a big career ahead of him.’
Nunez will be Liverpool’s second summer acquisition, following the £7.7 million agreement for Fulham’s Fabio Carvalho last month.