Jurgen Klopp could barely contain his excitement at the signing of Darwin Nunez, with the manager realising the striker had genuine world class potential after analysing him in the build up to the Champions League tie with Benfica.
The striker becomes the third Uruguayan to play for the Reds, following in the footsteps of Luis Suarez and Sebastian Coates, after signing a six year contract with the Merseyside club.
Liverpool will pay £64m down on a fee that will swiftly rise to £75m based on appearances, with his club Benfica also set to receive a further £10m based on trophy success.
“Darwin is a wonderful player; already really good but so much potential to get even better. That’s why it’s so exciting, to be honest,” said Klopp.
“He is as excited by us as we are by him, which makes for a great relationship, when you appreciate each other’s strengths. That is certainly the case here. He thinks we suit him and we believe he is the right fit for us – so let’s do it.
“His age, his desire, his hunger to be even better than he currently is. His belief in our project and what we are looking to do as a club.”
Klopp also argued that Liverpool have pulled off a real coup in signing a player with the potential to go on to join the elite of world football.
“I’m very grateful to everyone at the club for making it happen. We’ve shown decisiveness and ambition in equal measure,” he added.
“He plays without fear, he’s powerful. I know he will excite our supporters. He has all the pieces we look for - he can set a tempo, brings energy, threatens space from central and wide areas. He is aggressive and dynamic with his movement.
“It’s important we all recognise we are getting a ‘work in progress’ with Darwin. He recognises that himself, for sure. I love how much focus and humility he has.
“We have wonderful attacking options already and he becomes part of that now. So there is no pressure on him at all.”
Nunez says he chose Liverpool ahead of other European football royalty, because he believes there is far more Anfield glory to come under Jurgen Klopp.
And he believes he will deliver those trophies at Anfield, after talks with Klopp which convinced him the club is the coming power in Europe.
It is understood he turned down Manchester United, Barcelona and Atletico Madrid despite bigger contract offers, and Liverpool moved quickly to secure Klopp’s number one summer target.
New Sporting Director Julian Ward flew to Lisbon to put an agreement in place soon after the end of the season, meaning they couldn’t be gazumped by United, who strongly pursued the forward.
Nunez insisted there was never a chance of him going anywhere else after tasting the Anfield experience with Benfica in the Champions League quarter final, and he said:
“I’m really happy and delighted to be here at Liverpool. It’s a massive club…when I arrived at the training ground, I was really surprised to see the structure and all the trophies here.
“You can then imagine yourself winning more trophies and then later on when you come (back) 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.”
Nunez will inherit the number 27 shirt vacated by Divock Origi, who departed this summer, and he admitted that he was inspired to join the club by the atmosphere he experienced at Anfield back in April.
It is understood that the striker has agreed a contract which places him in the mid range of Liverpool’s earners, allowing the club to maintain their wage structure.
Sadio Mane now seems certain to depart to join Bayern Munich - after failed negotiations over a new deal at Anfield - with the Senegal striker agreeing a deal which will earn him around £360,000 a week with the German club.
The young forward believes he can grow under Klopp, and he said: “It’s a pleasure to be here in Liverpool and I’m very happy to be a part of this great club.
“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. There are some great players here and I think it’s going to suit my style of play here.
“I’ve watched them 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.”
