It's all supporters have been talking about for the past week, but the deal is finally done - Darwin Nunez is a Liverpool player.
The capture of one of European football's hottest young strikers by Jurgen Klopp has fired an immediate response to Manchester City, after Pep Guardiola bolstered his own firepower with the signing of Erling Haaland. It promises to be quite the tussle next season.
The ECHO has pulled together a round-up of how the national media has reacted to the arrival of Nunez at Anfield, in what could become a club record transfer deal.
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The Guardian wrote: "Liverpool see the signing as a statement of intent in their attempt to challenge Manchester City for the Premier League title and is another feather in the cap for the new sporting director, Julian Ward, who moved quickly to fend off interest from Manchester United.
"Ward, who is stepping into the role vacated by the influential Michael Edwards, was a key player in the January recruitment of Luis Díaz and the club believe getting the deal done early will allow Núñez to settle in and enjoy a full pre-season."
Guardian journalist Andy Brassell had already given the acquisition his seal of approval yesterday. An an article headlined 'Darwin Nunez: a rampaging bull who should be an ideal fit for Liverpool', he wrote: "If you think the pressure of a transfer to one of the world’s elite clubs – at a cost potentially reaching the €100m mark – might weigh on Darwin Nunez, then you have a lot to learn about Liverpool’s new centre-forward. The Uruguayan was always ready for this. His whole – and relatively brief – career in Europe has been an unequivocal line of pressure and expectation, from when the newly flush Spanish second-tier side Almería signed him for a fee north of €5.5m shortly after his 20th birthday, in 2019."
The Press Association shared some more insight into the deal via the BT Sport website, writing: "The club moved quickly to see off competition from one other Premier League club, believed to be Manchester United, after manager Jurgen Klopp identified the player as his number one summer target. Klopp was impressed – sources say he “fell in love” with the player – by what he saw in the club’s analysis of Benfica ahead of their two-legged Champions League quarter-final in April, in which Nunez scored home and away.
"New sporting director Julian Ward, using contacts in the Portuguese market established in a previous role as scout for the club, flew to Portugal last week to ensure the deal was finalised quickly."
Alex Bysouth wrote on the BBC Football website : "Darwin Nunez could not have wished for a better audition in front of soon-to-be-boss Jurgen Klopp than scoring twice against Liverpool in the Champions League quarter-final. The 22-year-old got a goal in each leg as Benfica slipped to a 6-4 aggregate defeat, taking his tally to six in 10 games in the competition last season and helping convince the Premier League side to agree what could become a club-record £85m deal for the Uruguay international, topping the £75m paid for Virgil van Dijk in 2018.
"With Sadio Mane looking set to move on, Klopp will continue the evolution of his forward line with a player who was coveted by some of the continent's biggest clubs despite having just completed only his second top-flight season in Europe. Compatriot Luis Suarez has been banging the drum for the youngster since he first joined Spanish second-tier side Almeria three years ago, but Barcelona's financial constraints meant they were unable to capitalise on the veteran striker's recommendation.
"Instead, it is another of Suarez's former clubs that look set to benefit from another emerging South American talent who honed his craft in Portugal, with the Reds having also signed Luis Diaz from Porto in January."
The Daily Express said: "The move is a real statement of intent from Liverpool, and comes after their main title rivals Manchester City announced the signing of their own big-money striker in Norway hitman Erling Haaland. And it remains to be seen when the 22-year-old makes his debut, with a mouthwatering friendly against Manchester United on July 12 on the horizon. "
Writing for the Independent, Richard Jolly said: "Virgil van Dijk, a man whose standards are invariably high and whose comments tend to be measured, in May described Nunez as one of the toughest forwards he has faced. Goals in either leg of the Champions League quarter-final were not enough to stop Liverpool from progressing, but amounted to a compelling job interview. With Van Dijk rested, Nunez tormented the Dutchman’s team-mates at Anfield.
"Fast, direct and relentless, he looked a Liverpool-type forward in Liverpool. Now he is becoming Liverpool’s most expensive forward; if add-ons taking his overall fee up towards £85 million are triggered, he will replace Van Dijk as their record signing.
"He may have only been truly potent for one season – this particular Darwin has evolved quickly – but the other omens are auspicious: their last signing from Portugal, Luis Diaz, shared some similar characteristics, looked a natural fit and was an instant hit. Had Diaz remained with Porto for the rest of the season, he would probably have been the league’s second top scorer; second to Nunez, who led the way with 26.
"His Champions League goals, including a brace against Barcelona, strikes against Bayern Munich and Ajax, suggested he is no flat-track bully. Apart from finding the net in either encounter with Liverpool, he had two goals disallowed for offside. If it showed he plays on the shoulder of the last defender, that can be a hallmark of many a Jurgen Klopp forward.
"The defining features of a Klopp forward can include the ability to get into scoring positions. If Nunez can repeat his form from last year, when he got 26 goals from an xG of 15.73 in the Portuguese league, he may be the most clinical of the lot."
