Manchester United’s opening bid for Benfica striker Darwin Nunez has been rejected by the Portuguese club, according to a leading Portuguese journalist. The 22-year-old had a very good season year scoring 34 goals in 41 games.
The Red Devils have bid €105 million (£89m) for the player, made up of €75 million in instalments, €20 million in bonuses with a player worth €10 million – with Andreas Pereira mooted as part of the deal.
However, Paulo Catarro, speaking last night on CMTV (Correio de Manha TV), said the overall value of the bid was acceptable, but that the cash portion was not enough.
Catarro claims that Benfica have rejected United’s bid and indicated that the deal would be too difficult to negotiate.
“Benfica have already told those responsible at United that the deal requires more money’”, he said.
“Ultimately a bonus package can be included but involving players such as Andreas Pereira would be difficult.”
If true, this report suggests that Benfica’s rejection of United’s offer may also be an expression of hope that the club can convince United to further increase their bid. The belief is that an extra €10 million (£8.5 million) in cash could seal the deal.
New Manchester United chief executive Richard Arnold and director of football John Murtough have replaced outgoing executive vice chairman Ed Woodward as the club’s negotiators.
The new team approach towards the opening bid for Núñez seems to be a more pragmatic approach than the ones used by Woodward and Judge previously.
Visit Our Homepage