Benfica have announced the sale of forward Darwin Nuñez to Liverpool for an initial €75 million, with a potential further €25 million in add-ons, in a deal that could see the Uruguayan overtake Virgil Van Dyke as Liverpool’s record signing.

Nuñez is now the second most expensive player taken from the Portuguese league, after João Félix’s €120 million move to Atletico Madrid in in 2019.

The striker arrived at Benfica at the beginning of the 2020/21 season from Almería for €24 million, who won the second division of Spanish football last season. The Spanish club will receive 20% of the fee paid to Benfica by Liverpool.

The 22-year-old has only played three seasons of football in Europe – one in Almería and two in Benfica. He came through the ranks of Uruguayan club Peñarol.

In his first season in Benfica, Nuñez played 44 games in different competitions, with 14 goals scored and 11 assists. In the season just past, the striker played 41 games, with 34 goals and four assists, becoming the top scorer of the Portuguese league, with 26 league goals.

The striker was also in the spotlight in last season’s Champions League, with a decisive goal in the round of 16 against Ajax, followed by goals in both legs against Liverpool.