Darwin Núñez is due in England on Monday to take his medical after Liverpool sealed a €100m (£85.4m) agreement with Benfica to sign the striker.
Liverpool will pay a guaranteed €80m and up to another €20m in add-ons. Núñez was in Almería on Sunday, where he played before joining Benfica, and is scheduled to fly from Spain to England.
The 22-year-old Uruguay international has agreed a six-year contract and via the add-ons will likely become the most expensive player in Liverpool’s history, his fee surpassing the £75m paid to acquire Virgil van Dijk from Southampton in January 2018.
Núñez was the top scorer in Portugal’s top flight in the 2021-22 season with 26 goals and scored 34 in total. He also scored in each leg of Benfica’s Champions League quarter-final with Liverpool in April and after the first leg in Lisbon he was showered with praise by Jürgen Klopp.
“Extremely good-looking boy, eh? And a decent player as well. Really good, really good, you have to say,” the Liverpool manager said. “I knew before, of course, but he played pretty much in front of me with his tough battles with [Ibrahima] Konaté.”
Klopp added: “Physically strong, quick, plus calm around his finish, when he finished the goal off he was really calm. Good, really, really good. How we say in these situations, if he stays healthy, it’s a big career ahead of him.”
Núñez’s career will now involve playing on Merseyside as Klopp continues the process of refreshing his side. The striker, who has 11 caps and two goals for his country, will feature in the centre of Liverpool’s front line, with Luis Díaz more often than not playing to his left and Mohamed Salah to his right.
Sadio Mané, meanwhile, continues to be linked with a move to Bayern Munich while Roberto Firmino has essentially become a squad player. The Portugal forward Diogo Jota is also part of the mix from an attacking point of view.
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Núñez’s arrival could also see Klopp shift Liverpool’s go-to formation from 4-3-3 to 4-2-3-1 given his capabilities and his record as a more conventional No 9 than the club have had in recent years.
Núñez will be Liverpool’s second signing of the close season, after Fábio Carvalho’s arrival from Fulham. There could shortly be a third after the Premier League and Champions League runners-up submitted a £4m bid for Aberdeen’s Calvin Ramsay. Klopp has long been an admirer of the 18-year-old right-back and negotiations continue regarding a transfer that would also include £4m in add-ons. An agreement is already in place with the player.
