West Ham United made a €45million deadline day bid for Darwin Nunez in January, Fabrizio Romano has revealed in his latest CaughtOffside column.
The Benfica striker has also attracted interest from the likes of Manchester United and Arsenal in recent times, but it seems the Hammers could also have been serious contenders for his signature.
It didn’t work out on that occasion, and the truth is it now looks like David Moyes and co. have missed their chance, with Nunez’s asking price almost doubling since then, according to Romano.
“Darwin Nunez will leave Benfica at 100% this summer. He has already communicated this to the club for months, there is no doubt. He’s had an outstanding season, scoring, scoring 34 goals in 41 appearances in all competitions, and a big move is now on his agenda,” Romano said.
“Where could he end up? Manchester United have certainly discussed his name internally as early as March with Ralf Rangnick, but there is no official offer – it is certainly not yet the case to say that the club is “closing in” on Darwin, as others have said. We’ll see what happens with him in the next few weeks.
“Arsenal wanted him in January for sure, West Ham had offered €45million on Deadline Day but Benfica refused as they wanted €55m… and now it could be closer to a €70/80m fee.”