Uruguayan forward Darwin Nunez is close to joining Liverpool, according to various reports from the transfer mills on Sunday. Reports say the striker is close to leaving the Portuguese side Benfica as Liverpool is ready to pay as much as £62 million + £21 million more in add-ons.

The 22-year-old scored 34 goals in 41 matches in all competitions for the Portuguese Giants leading to several interests from the biggest clubs in Europe.

Nunez caught the attention of Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp when Benfica played Liverpool over two legs in the UEFA Champions League quarter-final as he scored twice in a 6-4 aggregate loss.

Nunez joined Benfica from Almeria in 2020 for a fee worth around 20 million pounds, and his profile has risen as he is now also on the radar of Manchester United.

Liverpool officials traveled to Portugal on Sunday and moved to finalize the deal with the medicals yet to be conducted. If the deal goes through, Nunez’s transfer fee will overtake Virgil Van Dijk’s price as the most expensive Liverpool transfer buy in history.

Virgil Van Dijk joined Liverpool from Southampton in 2017 for a fee of around a 75million pounds.

Liverpool, who won the FA and Carabao Cups last season, are on the verge of losing their Senegalese striker Sadio Mane who has run out of his current contract.

Meanwhile, European and La Liga champions Real Madrid have officially signed French midfielder Aurelien Tchouameni from Monaco.

A 22-year-old joined the Santiago Bernabeu side on a six-year deal after a routine medical, and he is expected to be officially presented to the Real Madrid fans on Tuesday.

Aurelien Tchouameni made 32 League One appearances for Monaco last season before joining Real Madrid on a deal worth £68.3m and 20m euros in add-ons.

Written by: Daniel Ademiju Idowu