Manchester United have reportedly had their bumper €105 million offer for Darwin Nunez rejected by SL Benfica.
As revealed by highly respected journalist Paulo Catarro (via CM Journal), Manchester United have been rebuffed in their attempts to sign Darwin Nunez. The Premier League giants had lodged a lucrative €105 million proposal for the exciting South American forward, but their offer was knocked back by SL Benfica.
Catarro reveals that Manchester United had offered €75 million in cash through various installments, along with performance-related add-ons worth around €20 million. They had also offered a player worth €10 million, with Andreas Pereira being the likeliest candidate.
Although Benfica have rejected the offer, their response has been rather encouraging for Manchester United. The Portuguese giants, after all, are compelled by the overall valuation of the offer, but they want the Premier League outfit to increase the overall value of the cash deal.
It appears Benfica are not interested in Andreas Pereira. Instead, they could agree to terms if Manchester United can increase the cash amount to €85 million, given that the club are in dire need of a financial injection this summer.
Although funding moves for star players has not historically been a problem for Manchester United, they are expected to follow a more calculated approach in the market in light of their recent debacle in the transfer market.
The Red Devils have indeed rued the big-money investments in players such as Fred, Harry Maguire and Victor Lindelof in recent years. It has put enormous pressure on new Manchester United boss Erik ten Hag, who has taken greater control of the club’s recruitment team following the exit of Ralf Rangnick.
Spending close to €100 million for a player like Nunez is certainly a risk, especially given the South American forward’s lack of experience at the highest level of football. The young Uruguayan, though, has no shortage of potential and proved himself a few times in the UEFA Champions League this past season.
Ten Hag is hoping for Nunez to explode in the Premier League. His pace and versatility in the final third could see him become an excellent strike-partner for the mercurial Cristiano Ronaldo at Manchester United.
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However, in order to fund a move for Nunez, Manchester United may have to offload their unwanted stars. They have already confirmed the exit of Paul Pogba and Nemanja Matic, but the Red Devils will be hoping to sell the likes of Eric Bailly, Phil Jones and Marcus Rashford in the coming summer, in an attempt to earn the additional revenue.
