Darwin Nunez looks to be quickly settling into life at Liverpool after a club-record move from Benfica.
After weeks of transfer speculation, the highly-rated Uruguayan striker finally put pen to paper on a long-term, six-year contract at Anfield on Tuesday.
Nunez has joined Liverpool for an initial £64million fee that could rise as high as £85m with add-ons, which would see him replace Virgil van Dijk as the club’s most expensive purchase of all time.
The 22-year-old attracted the attention of multiple clubs from across the continent, including Manchester United, after a stellar campaign at Benfica in which he notched 34 goals in 41 appearances across all competitions for the Primeira Liga giants.
Nunez will now be expected to swiftly become Liverpool’s answer to fellow Premier League newcomer Erling Haaland as Liverpool and Manchester City jostle for domestic supremacy once again next season.
And he admitted to being left stunned by the facilities and history on display as he took a first tour around the club’s state-of-the art training ground in Kirkby.
“When I arrived at the training ground, I was really surprised to see the set-up and the structure and all the trophies here,” Nunez told Liverpool’s official website. “You can then imagine yourself winning more trophies and then later on when you come here again and see the trophies on display, you can say, ‘Look, I was a part of that, I was there at that time, winning trophies.’ That’s one of the reasons why I came here to Liverpool – to win trophies and titles. I want to win a lot of trophies at Liverpool.”
With Sadio Mane expected to join Bayern Munich this summer and doubts also surrounding the respective futures of Mo Salah and Roberto Firmino as they enter the final years of their deals on Merseyside, there will be plenty of pressure on the young Nunez to hit the ground running at Liverpool next term in a similar fashion to Luis Diaz, who has shone since making the same move from Portugal to the Premier League in January.
However, Nunez believes he is the perfect fit for Jurgen Klopp’s side, who fell short of an unprecedented quadruple in 2021/22 after missing out on the top-flight and Champions League titles but still managed to claim both domestic cup honours at Wembley.
“I’ve played against Liverpool and I’ve seen them in lots of games in the Champions League, and it’s my style of play,” he said. “There are some great players here and I think it’s going to suit my style of play here. As I say, I’ve watched quite a lot and it’s a very big club and I hope I can give everything that I’ve got in order to help the team.”
Click through the gallery above to see the latest images from Darwin Nunez’s first day as a Liverpool player!
