Darwin Nunez potentially moving to West Ham before the window closes tonight is a story which started in the UK media on Sunday, and grew over a period of hours.
At one point it was even claimed the Hammers and Benfica had agreed a fee for the striker to leave Lisbon, but that was not backed up in the Portuguese media.
Darwin’s situation has been followed closely in Portugal, with endless claims of Premier League interest and an apparent ongoing attempt to talk up the player’s value to higher than it perhaps should be.
Newcastle United have of course been linked, and it was stated the Magpies had initially offered €50m before making it known to Benfica that they’d be prepared to pay €60m.
Portuguese sources are now giving their own take on the matter.
A Bola go with a headline saying ‘Darwin inaccessible to West Ham’, and they say Benfica are not willing to negotiate the player’s exit.
Record offer a bit more, saying David Moyes’ side have ‘submitted a proposal’, there’s no agreement, but there’s a chance of one before the end of the day.
The newspaper states: ‘Despite the resistance of the Benfica leadership in letting the Uruguayan go, the values on the table will be interesting for the Eagles’ coffers, but until last night they were still not irrefutable.’
Record also explain that Benfica signed Darwin for €24m, and 20% of any profit is due to his former club Almeria. The player’s agent would get an additional 10%, so that’s partly why Benfica have been aiming so high in terms of transfer fee.
O Jogo report West Ham have put a €45m offer ‘on the table’, which Benfica rejected. They insist ‘it will take many millions’ to change the situation. The club don’t intend to sell, and the money offered by the London club is ‘insufficient’ to make them change their mind.
They don’t completely rule the move out, should the Hammers come forward with more… with €60m+ looking like the trigger point.
