Tottenham Hotspur and Jose Mourinho could be left with regrets as Darwin Nunez edges closer to Liverpool - after the Portuguese tactician seemingly turned down a move for the 22-year-old when in charge of Spurs.
While at Almeria, Nunez drew interest from a host of clubs and in particular the Premier League as Tottenham and Brighton both eyed a move for the Uruguayan. The north London side opted against a move for the forward, Ian Ladyman from the Daily Mail wrote in 2020: "Mourinho gave thought to Almeria’s Darwin Nunez but decided not to pursue the Uruguayan striker".
Instead, Benfica forward Carlos Vinicius arrived on loan whilst the Seagulls failed in their efforts to lure Nunez to the south coast as Nunez put pen-to-paper on a record move to the Lisbon side.
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Nunez fired 26 goals in 28 league games this season taking his tally at the club to 47 goals in 84 appearances. If all goes to plan and Liverpool push forward with their interest, he looks set to be a marquee signing at Anfield. Jurgen Klopp has already spoken highly of the prospective forward after the skirmishes with Benfica in the Champions League last season.
"Extremely good-looking boy, eh? And a decent player as well! Really good, really good, you have to say," the German said of Nunez. "I knew before, of course, but he played pretty much in front of me with his tough battles with Ibou Konate.
"Physically strong, quick, plus calm around his finish, when he finished the goal off he was really calm. Good, really, really good. How we say in these situations, if he stays healthy it’s a big career ahead of him."
Klopp has an impressive record with traditional strikers, orchestrating Borussia Dortmund's Bundesliga triumphs with Robert Lewandowski and German Cup success with Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang as frontmen.
Any successful move for the 22-year-old could see Virgil van Dijk's record transfer shattered. But as they did with Luis Diaz, the Reds look set to capitalise on Spurs' failed dealings - and they will be hoping Nunez has a similar impact as the Colombian who lit up the second half of the season.
