Former Man Utd and Chelsea boss Jose Mourinho almost apparently ruined Liverpool ’s chances of signing Darwin Nunez.
The Reds appear have secured a deal for the Uruguayan striker, with the swoop potentially set to become the club's record transfer.
Whilst the striker has finally been announced as a Liverpool player, the club’s hopes of securing a deal for his services might have been ruined by Mourinho two years ago when the striker was still with Spanish side Almeria. The club’s sporting director João Gonçalves has confirmed that there was interest in Nunez from Tottenham Hotspur - as well as other prominent European clubs - during Mourinho’s time in north London.
Speaking with Portuguese news outlet Record, he said: “When we sold him, there were other clubs that had referenced him like Brighton, Tottenham, Inter and Barcelona. Together we chose Benfica. He believed it would be best for personal development.”
Should he have elected to move to Tottenham, it is certainly hard to envisage that the Reds would have been able to secure Nunez's signature as easily from a Premier League rival. In the meantime, it is certainly hard to argue that Nunez’s decision to move to the Estadio da Luz was the wrong one after Benfica spent a Liga NOS record €39m (£33.8m) to secure his services.
Ever since making the switch to the club, he has scored 48 goals in 85 outings in all competitions - a record that includes two goals against future employers Liverpool in the Champions League quarter-final meeting between the two clubs last season. Those strikes certainly appear to have made an impression on Reds’ boss Jurgen Klopp.
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The German has already admitted his admiration of the striker. Speaking after watching him at close quarters, he said: “An extremely good looking boy, eh? He is a really good boy.
“He played in front of me battling against [Ibrahima] Konate. He was calm for the finish. He is good, really good. If he stays healthy, he has a big career ahead of him.”
Whilst Tottenham will potentially rue their failure to secure Nunez before one of their Premier League rivals, Championship side Sheffield United will also have a bigger regret. The Blades were strongly linked with a move for the young striker back in 2019 after his stunning season with Almeria.
However, their interest stretches back even further having also scouted him during his spell with Penarol in his native Uruguay. In the end though, he moved to Spain whilst Sheffield United eventually plumped for Liverpool forward Rhian Brewster before suffering relegation to the Championship.
