Krishnan Sreekumar
Manchester United continue to pursue Benfica striker Darwin Nunez despite failure to qualify for the Champions League
According to Record (h/t The Sun), Manchester United are still in the hunt to sign Benfica striker Darwin Nunez in the upcoming summer transfer window, despite not qualifying for the UEFA Champions League next season.
Nunez has enjoyed a breakout season in attack, leading the line effectively for the Primeira Liga side. Despite only being 22 years old, he showed maturity beyond his years and took to life in the first team swimmingly.
His excellent goalscoring record this term has seen him grab the attention of several Premier League clubs, with United, Arsenal, Newcastle United, West Ham United, and Chelsea seeking to secure his services in the summer.
In fact, the Hammers made an attempt to sign Nunez in the winter transfer window in January as they looked to add reinforcements to their attacking ranks. However, the London side fell short of Benfica’s £60m valuation of the player.
Impressive Champions League record
Despite the competition from other clubs, United are keen on signing the Uruguayan at the end of the season. However, they may face an issue in securing his services as the striker wants to play in the Champions League next season, while the Red Devils are still battling for Europa League qualification.
However, they have refused to give up on Nunez. It is plain to see why the English side is not letting go of their attempts to snap him up in the summer, with the forward scoring 34 goals across all competitions this season. Five of those strikes have come in the UCL against top sides like Barcelona, Bayern Munich, and Liverpool.
A big reason why the Manchester side failed to finish in the top four of the Premier League table and qualify for the Champions League next season is their lack of firepower up top. Despite boasting big names in attack, the supply of goals has been short.
The club have been overly reliant on Cristiano Ronaldo to provide the goals for the team, given how less of an impact Edinson Cavani and Marcus Rashford have made this term. The former has struggled with injuries throughout the campaign and barely made any appearances, while the latter is terribly out of form.
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With Ronaldo shouldering most of the responsibility, the side have struggled whenever the Portuguese captain went through a bad patch of form. At 37, it is not known how much longer he can last at the top as well, so a younger replacement is needed in the upcoming transfer window.
Nunez fits the bill in this regard, proving that he is capable of delivering when the team needs him. He has been able to match up to some of Europe’s top defenders in the Champions League this season, and that augurs well for United, who will look to him to take on some of the Premier League’s best rearguards next term.
