Premier League clubs are wary of repeating the mistake Arsenal made with Nicolas Pepe as they ponder a move for Benfica star Darwin Nunez.
Manchester United are interested in signing the 23-year-old forward who scored 36 times for his club last season – with six of those coming in the Champions League.
Erik ten Hag is eager to bring in another centre forward to ease the pressure on Cristiano Ronaldo next season while reports in Portugal Liverpool have also launched a bid.
Benfica however reportedly value their prized asset at €100m (£85m) with United among the sides wary of parting with that sort of cash.
According to i, one Premier League recruitment chief believes the interested clubs have questions over whether Nunez will be able to cope with the physical intensity of the English top flight.
The situation has been compared somewhat to that of Arsenal forward Pepe, who joined the Gunners in a deal worth £72million from Lille in 2019.
The Ivorian has struggled to live up to that price tag and has failed to hold down a starting role in Mikel Arteta’s side, starting just five top flight games last season.
‘The sort of money being asked for him is huge and no club wants to do what Arsenal did with Nicolas Pepe, grossly overpaying for someone because of the hype around the number of clubs interested in him,’ the source said.
United have a summer budget of around £120million which can be boosted through player sales.
But with the club seemingly committed to using a large chunk of that to sign Frenkie de Jong, with reports in Spain suggesting a £70m fee has been agreed, United can ill-afford another expensive mistake.
MORE : Manchester United set to miss out on £65m deal for Benfica striker Darwin Nunez
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