A Newcastle United chief has now had a meeting over the potential signing of Darwin Nunez.
The Lowdown: On fire
Nunez is certainly on fire this season, with 11 goals and two assists in 18 games in total over all competitions for Benfica, including strikes against Bayern Munich and FC Barcelona in the UEFA Champions League (Transfermarkt).
His growing reputation has also seen the striker play six times for the Uruguay national team ahead of the likes of Luis Suarez and Edinson Cavani, scoring two goals (Transfermarkt).
Nonetheless, the 22-year-old certainly has a bright future ahead of him, and may not be playing in Portugal much longer.
The Latest: Nickson meeting
As per Maisfutebol, Head of Recruitment at St. James’ Park, Steve Nickson, has now had a meeting with Benfica president Rui Costa over potentially signing Nunez, but the Portuguese giants do not want to let him go until the summer at least.
The player has a contract with them until June 2025, and has a whopping release clause worth €150m (£127.8m), although it is thought that the starting price for talks would be close to €50m (£42.6m).
The Verdict: Survival
The North East club must avoid relegation down to the Championship before they can even think about signing Nunez in the summer.
Described as an ‘incredible talent’ by sports journalist Maxi Angelo, there will no doubt be other suitors for him, especially given the fact that he has already shown his worth in the Champions League.
Nonetheless, if the Tyneside outfit can survive, then there is no reason that they cannot tempt him to move to the Premier League next summer, and he would certainly be a real signing of intent for their long-term project.
In other news, find out boost NUFC have now received in pursuit of this ‘extraordinary’ star here!
