Manchester United are in the market for a striker this season despite Cristiano Ronaldo’s impressive goalscoring form. The 37-year-old has just one year remaining on his contract and the club is thought to be planning ahead.
Benfica forward Darwin Nunez is one of Europe’s most attractive prospects this season and his heroics for the Portuguese side have caught the eye of several top European clubs.
United are believed to be interested in the Uruguayan but according to new reports, he has now rejected the chance to join United due to their lack of Champions League football.
That’s according to RMC, who say that United are joined by Newcastle in being interested but the forward has ‘refused’ both clubs due to his preference of playing in Europe’s biggest competition.
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As per the report, United are believed to have been ready to stump up a whopping €80m for the player but have had their plans scuppered.
SN’s verdict…
Manchester United’s disastrous Premier League season was always going to come back to bite them in the transfer market and in addition to Nunez, prospective target Frenkie de Jong is thought to share those beliefs.
United have missed out on Champions League qualification before and besides the summer of 2014, their first transfer market without Champions League football in the Premier League era, they have often struggled to attract the biggest names.
The summer of 2019 saw Daniel James, Aaron Wan-Bissaka and Harry Maguire join the club and Erik ten Hag will now be desperate to land as many of his top targets as possible.