Manchester City were one of the first Premier League sides to become interested in signing Benfica striker Darwin Nunez. And while the race for the Eagles’ star gets bigger, Pep Guardiola’s side continue being named as one of the main clubs in the competition.
Today we see newspaper Record featuring a story about Newcastle United’s attempt to sign the striker, as the Magpies put €50m on the table in a meeting they had with the Lisbon club.
That offer was turned down, and according to the outlet, there’s a ‘long list tightening the siege’ for Nunez. Among them, there’s still Manchester City.
Record claims that Benfica have no intention of negotiating the striker’s sale in January. So in case any clubs come for him now, they’d need to trigger his release clause, which stands at €150m.
Now even in case of a summer sale, it’s claimed that Benfica are now looking to make at least €100m. It’s said that’s something Newcastle wouldn’t pay, so that would be one less competitor for Manchester City.
The Uruguayan has 11 goals for Benfica this season, some of them against Barcelona and Bayern Munich in the Champions League, and the Eagles are certainly hopeful he can score more impactful goals in the knock-out stage.
That said, the figures Benfica are asking are beyond reason, with the player not showing enough to indicate he’s worth anything like €100-150m.
Manchester City will be well aware of that.
