Chelsea and Manchester United are among three ‘front runners’ to sign Darwin Nunez from Benfica as Europe’s leading clubs consider a move to sign the forward.
Nunez is attracting interest from several sides following a superb season in Portugal, with the 22-year-old’s hat-trick against Belenenses SAD at the weekend moving the Uruguayan to 31 goals for the season in all competitions.
The Athletic are reporting that Benfica are ‘open’ to the sale of the forward this summer but will demand a fee of around €70m.
Manchester United, Chelsea and Paris Saint-Germain are understood to be leading the chase and Benfica would like a deal done early in the window to provide the Portuguese side with time to sign a replacement.
Each of those sides have issues to resolve before a pursuit, however, with United currently in the process of appointing a new permanent manager.
Chelsea cannot currently conclude transfers until a takeover is completed in West London, whilst PSG’s interest is set to hinge on Kylian Mbappe’s future as the forward approaches the end of his contract at the Parc des Princes.
Nunez signed for Benfica in a £20m deal from Almeria in 2020 and has since taken his game to new heights in Lisbon, with the forward’s output exploding in 2021/22 with a number of impressive performances both domestically and in Europe.
He has five goals in this season’s Champions League campaign, scoring against Barcelona, Bayern Munich and Ajax, in addition to finding the net in Benfica’s 3-1 first-leg defeat to Liverpool last week.
West Ham and Brighton have both tried to sign the forward in recent windows, but his goalscoring form this season means a move one of Europe’s top sides is now probable this summer.