Journalist Pete O’Rourke insists that West Ham United will only be able to sign Darwin Nunez from Benfica if they qualify for the Champions League.
The Hammers have been linked with a potential swoop for the striker, who scored twice earlier this season as Benfica thumped Barcelona 3-0 in the Champions League, running their defence ragged.
What’s the latest with Nunez?
He’s emerged as a star during his time with the Portuguese club, and has been labelled as "special" by the sporting director of his former club Almeria, Joao Goncalves.
Nunez is just 22 but he’s already a full Uruguay international, winning six caps for his country and scoring twice.
In addition to that, he’s scored 18 goals in 22 games for the club this season and has to be seen as the kind of prospect who can only get better as he continues to develop.
Benfica signed Nunez from Almeria in 2020, becoming the most expensive signing in the club’s history when he agreed to move.
They paid €24m (£20.2m) to secure his signing, eclipsing the fee they had paid to sign Raul Jimenez.
Any deal to take him away from Benfica would be hugely expensive, and the club are not said to be interested in letting him go in January, which makes a great deal of sense.
Per Record, Benfica want to receive a fee of €120m (£101.6m) to let him go, a price that would surely price the Irons out of any chase.
Still, O’Rourke believes there could be a chance if the Hammers manage to secure their qualification for Europe’s top club competition.
What did he say?
Speaking to GiveMeSport, O’Rourke said: “For West Ham to have any chance of signing someone of his quality, they probably need to be qualifying for next season’s Champions League if they are to try to sign him in the summer. But I think a January deal is a no go.”
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How good is Nunez?
This is a good question.
But genuinely, he’s an exceptional option, even if he is currently playing in a league that is not exactly seen as being a top-five league along with the likes of the Premier League, La Liga, and the Bundesliga.
Nunez has been scoring goals for fun, though, and given his age, one has to think that he can only really get better.
The Hammers will be hoping that they can get back amongst the top four race, with David Moyes’ side currently just four points behind Arsenal in fourth with a game in hand.
He has a contract until 2025 at the club so Benfica don’t really have any need to sell him, but this is the kind of target the Hammers ought to be looking at if they want to take the next step as a club.