Man Utd told they will need to break transfer record for Darwin Nunez by Benfica boss

Benfica are hoping to raise a fee similar to that of Joao Felix if they sell star striker Darwin Nunez this summer. Nunez has attracted attention from a number of top European clubs and Benfica manager Nelson Verissimo has admitted they would sell at the end of the season – but only for a fee “close to” what the Portuguese club earned for Felix in 2019.

Nunez is one of the most in-form strikers in Europe and has scored 29 goals in 34 appearances across all competitions for Benfica this season. As Express Sport have reported, Manchester United have scouted the Uruguayan international over 10 times this season, but might need to break their transfer record of £89million for Paul Pogba in 2016 to land him.

The 22-year-old scored a hat-trick in Benfica’s 3-1 win over Belenenses on the weekend, prompting Verissimo to field questions over the future of his team’s star player. The club’s manager knows they won’t be able to hold onto Nunez, but hopes they will be able to bring in a transfer fee similar to the £113m Atletico Madrid paid for Felix three years ago.

“What do you think? Darwin is an excellent player, he has shown all his quality. He has helped the team a lot, it is true that the team has also helped him a lot,” Verissimo said.

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“In what is my day to day with the player, in what is given to us to observe in training and in the game, naturally we are here before a different player and all the different players arouse the interest of the big European clubs. Darwin is on that lot, obviously.”

Nunez appears to be preparing for a summer transfer, having left his agent Edgardo Lasalvia ahead of a reported switch to Jorge Mendes’s Gestifute agency. “I want to clarify that I will not renew my contract with my representative Edgardo Lasalvia,” he wrote on social media earlier this week. “I also want to clarify that neither my family nor I have received any threats [to remain with Lasalvia] and we are fine.”