Word stemming from the media over the course of the last 24 hours suggests that Benfica star Darwin Nunez has already come to a decision on the prospect of a move to Manchester United in the summer.
Those of a Red Devils persuasion, though, need not get their hopes up.
Hitman Nunez has of course seen his name take centre stage in the headlines over the course of the last couple of months.
This comes with the Uruguayan understood to have been added to the wishlists of a number of Europe’s biggest clubs, owing to a head-turning haul of 34 goals across all competitions this season.
⚽ GOLO
Darwin 58′
Liga Portugal bwin (#29) | Benfica 3-1 Belenenses SAD#LigaPortugalbwin #SLBBFS https://t.co/52KXPBpUEZ pic.twitter.com/ZzYOgfce10— VSPORTS (@vsports_pt) April 9, 2022
Manchester United, for their part, are one such club said to be expressing a keen interest in Nunez, amid a dearth of centre-forward options beyond Cristiano Ronaldo ahead of the new campaign.
If the latest word doing the rounds in the press this week is anything to go by, however, then the Reds’ interest developing into an actual transfer, as things stand, appears altogether unlikely.
As per a report from French outlet RMC Sport, Nunez has knocked back the advances of both the Manchester giants and fellow Premier League outfit Newcastle ahead of the summer.
This comes with the 22-year-old understood to have informed any and all potential suitors that he intends to sign for a Champions League club.
United have of course missed out on a spot in Europe’s top tier club competition for next season, ahead of finishing, at best, 6th in the English top-flight.
Manchester United: Darwin Nunez ‘snubs £68m move because he wants to join a Champions League club https://t.co/z0O3BB25F9
— MailOnline Sport (@MailSport) May 20, 2022
Gunners blow?
Word of Nunez’s Champions League ambitions could spell altogether bad news for yet another Premier League club, too.
The outfit in question? Arsenal.
The board at the Emirates are long understood to have identified Benfica’s star man as a prime target, ahead of the imminent departures of current first-choice centre-forward pair Eddie Nketiah and Alexandre Lacazette.
Having slipped to 5th behind north London rivals Tottenham ahead of this weekend’s final round of fixtures, though, the Gunners look set to miss out on Champions League football once more, in the process likely bringing to an end hopes of landing Nunez.
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