Getty Darwin Nunez celebrate scoring in the Champions League.
Barcelona are expected to be very active in the summer transfer window with coach Xavi keen to reshape the first-team squad in a bid to fight for titles on all fronts in the 2022-23 campaign.
The Catalans have been linked with a host of attackers already including star names such as Erling Haaland, Robert Lewandowski and even Mohamed Salah but are also keen on Benfica’s 22-year-old frontman Darwin Nunez.
Barcelona “asked” Jordi Cruyff to scout Nunez during Benfica’s win over Ajax in the Champions League last-16. Nunez’s agent, Edgardo Lasalvia, has also confirmed to Portuguese newspaper A Bola that Barca are one of several clubs interested in the forward.
Nunez is likely to have impressed Cruyff as he scored the winner for Benfica against Ajax in the second leg of their tie to secure a 3-2 aggregate win and a place in the quarter-finals of Europe’s top competition.
Top European clubs including Bayern Munich, Manchester United, Inter and AC Milan, Atletico Madrid, Tottenham, and Arsenal have also asked for information on the youngster and his availability.
Yet landing Nunez will not be easy, given the competition, or cheap. The Uruguayan has a contract with Benfica until 2025 which contains a release clause set at an eye-popping €150 million.
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Barcelona Are Long-Term Admirers of Nunez
Barcelona’s interest in Nunez is not new. The Catalans targeted Nunez before Luis Suarez left the Camp Nou in the summer of 2020. According to ESPN, the club held “informal discussions” about a move and reignited their interest ahead of the January 2021 transfer window.
The Catalan giants had also followed Nunez before he moved to Europe. Indeed Barca have “tracked him since his days playing for Penarol in his native Uruguay.” The club’s scouts were then “impressed by how quickly he adapted to football in Spain after joining Almeria in 2019.”
Nunez has continued to impress in Portugal with Benfica. The attacker has 21 goals in just 23 league games and five in nine Champions League outings in 2021-22.
There’s no doubt his goalscoring record has attracted interest from other clubs, and Lasalvia revealed in October 2021 that he had already been fielding enquiries, as reported by Sport Witness.
“Darwin is ready to play in any team on the globe,” he said. “Various top-level teams have contacted us, but for the moment the head is on continuing and growing with Benfica and with the Uruguayan national team: this is how important things will come”
Problems With Nunez’s Agent?
Any potential move for Nunez could be complicated by issues with regards the player’s representation. There has been speculation Nunez has split with Lasalvia and signed with super-agent Jorge Mendes, as reported by Diario Sport.
Mendes looks after such high-profile players as Manchester United forward Cristiano Ronaldo and Atletico’s Joao Felix. However, Lasalvia “does not accept” the split, particularly as he knows the forward may change clubs this summer.
Lasalvia “wants the commission he agreed with Benfica” in case Nunez does move with Barcelona said to be “closely following” the striker and developments with his agent ahead of the summer transfer window.
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