Liverpool players past and present have spoken very highly of striker Darwin Nunez who looks set to move to Anfield this summer.
The Uruguayan has reportedly agreed terms with the Reds and Jurgen Klopp’s side are currently in talks with Benfica, with the Portuguese club looking to collect a fee of around €100million (£85m) for the 22-year-old.
Nunez is one of the highest-rated young strikers in the world and Manchester United were also very keen to land his signature, but the appeal of playing under Klopp and the lure of Champions League football appears to have convinced him to join Liverpool.
Among those to have sung Nunez’s praises is current Liverpool centre-back Virgil van Dijk who played against the striker in the Champions League last season.
Back in May, when talking to Rio Ferdinand about the toughest strikers he has faced during his career, the Dutchman said: ‘He’s a bit similar [to Erling Haaland] – very direct, quick, tall, strong and it’s quite difficult to play against him.’
Luis Suarez, who scored 82 goals in 133 games for Liverpool, also spoke very highly of his countryman in an interview with Gerard Romero on Twitch, whilst also chastising his former club Barcelona for not snapping him up sooner.
‘I recommended Darwin to Barcelona when he was at Almeria,’ the current Atletico Madrid striker said.
‘I have 15 years of international experience. I know a thing or two about forwards. And I told them, “Pay attention to this one, he’s very good, he shows interesting things”.
‘They told me he was at Almeria and that he was too young. But instead of paying now €80m, €90m or €100m, they would’ve paid €15m or €20m and have him there as a substitute.’
Last season, Nunez scored 34 goals in 41 games across all competitions and came close to joining West ham in January, but Benfica rejected the Irons’ £40m bid, a wise decision in hindsight given Liverpool will likely have to break their own transfer record of £75m to sign him.
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