Liverpool ready to SMASH their transfer record to sign £85m Darwin Nunez

Liverpool have targeted Darwin Nunez to be the new striker to light up Anfield and are prepared to smash their transfer record to sign him.

The Uruguay international is one of the rising stars in world football and is also wanted by Atletico Madrid and Manchester United but Liverpool are determined to sign Nunez with a deal that could reach as much as £85million.

Julian Ward, Liverpool's new Sporting Director, has been in discussions with Benfica and it is understood that Nunez is keen to move to Merseyside.

If Liverpool can complete the transfer, it would be a massive statement of intent.

Many had wondered what the future would hold for Liverpool in terms of their attack, given that Sadio Mane is now certain to leave this summer with Bayern Munich ready to replace Robert Lewandowski with the Senegalese forward.

Nunez, who can play on the left as well as through the middle, scored six goals in the Champions League last season, two of which came in the quarter-finals against Liverpool and he made a significant impression on Jurgen Klopp.

Liverpool's manager said in April of the 22-year-old: 'A good looking boy! And a decent player as well.

'Really good, really good. I knew before, of course, but he played pretty much in front of me with his tough battles with Ibrahima Konate.

'He was physically strong, quick, was calm around his finish. Good, really good. I always say in these situations if he is healthy, it's a big career ahead of him.'

If Liverpool can complete the deal, there would be echoes of the summer of 2018 when they responded to a Champions League final defeat to Real Madrid by making significant investments in their squad to kick-start an era of success.

Alisson Becker and Fabinho arrived four years ago for a combined £107m but the potential signing of Nunez would go down as the most expensive Liverpool have ever made, eclipsing the £75m it cost to sign Virgil van Dijk from Southampton in January 2018.

Atletico Madrid had long seemed the most likely destination for Nunez, with Diego Simeone looking to bolster his forward line, but there have been many suitors within the Premier League, including Manchester United – Nunez scored the goal that knocked Erik Ten Hag's Ajax out of Europe.

One thing working against United, however, is the fact that Nunez, who is currently with the Uruguay squad ahead of this week's game against Jamaica, wants to play in the Champions League and he is excited about the idea of potentially linking up with Klopp to develop his career.

Nunez, whose agents also represent Liverpool players Fabinho, Diogo Jota and Fabio Carvalho, moved to Europe in 2019 when he joined Almeria, finished last season with 34 goals in 41 appearances for Benfica.

Almeria are due 20 per cent of any future sale.