Liverpool positive about Nunez talks but the bargain not yet agreed

The youngster is eager to join

and is willing to sign a five-year deal. The form of the transaction is at the heart of the talks, with Liverpool only ready to pay what they believe is fair.

is seeking at least €100 million (£85.5 million).

In all competitions, the Uruguayan international struck 34 times for Benfica last season, including goals in both legs of the club's

quarter-final loss to Liverpool in April.

Manchester United are fans of the 22-year-old as well.

Despite uncertainties about Mane and Salah's futures, Liverpool are not willing to engage in a bidding battle for their top transfer target. 

Bayern Munich are interested in signing Mane after the Senegalese forward declined to renew his Liverpool contract beyond next season.

The 30-year-contract old's expires in a year, and he quipped that the majority of Senegalese fans want him to leave Anfield.

Salah's Liverpool contract expires in a year, although he indicated before last month's Champions League final loss to Real Madrid that he will stay at Merseyside for at least another season. 

Portuguese football expert Pedro Sepulveda was asked on 

about how good Nunez is and he said: "Darwin Nunez was one of the best players this season in the Portuguese league by far. The other one was Luis Diaz who moved to Liverpool in January and that made Nunez the absolute best player.

"Benfica finished the season in third place and failed to get a direct spot in the Champions League but in 41 games, Nunez scored 34 goals and registered four assists - so you're talking about one of the best strikers.

"He's a 'modern football striker' - like Erling Haaland and Kylian Mbappe - strikers who don't just focus on scoring goals. They focus on playing for the team and making the whole team play well. That's why we're talking about €100m.

"The biggest defect - or the less good point - about Nunez is his psychological game. In the 2020/21 season, he was not scoring many goals. He played 44 matches and only scored 14. He was criticised by the fans a little bit and the first thing he did was start suspending his social media, blocking people and not reading the comments. This proves he doesn't deal well with critics when things start not going well. And in England, the price tag is the first thing people will talk about when he doesn't start scoring goals.

"When you talk about a player like Darwin Nunez, you think about a typical number nine that plays inside the penalty area. But he can easily play out wide to break spaces for other players in the central areas if teams need him. It's a very good deal for Liverpool, who already used the Portuguese league with Luis Diaz in a massive transfer for Liverpool which the winger completely deserved.

"In Jurgen Klopp's hands, Darwin can be of the top strikers in the world. Nowadays, he's not one of the top strikers because he doesn't play in the top five leagues. We have to see how he develops in the Premier League, which is one of the best leagues in the world."

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