By Wayne Veysey

5th Nov, 2023 | 10:00am

Sources: Man United stunned by Liverpool's Darwin Nunez deal

Man United believed Liverpool overpaid for Darwin Nunez last summer (2022) after being beaten to his signature by their Premier League rivals, sources have told Football Insider.

Both clubs closely pursued the striker, now 24, when he was on the books at Benfica – where he had scored 34 goals in the 2021-22 campaign.

Liverpool eventually agreed a club-record move for Nunez worth up to £85million.

Man United calculated that the forward wasn’t worth such a fee at the time, and perhaps will have felt vindicated following the Uruguay international’s mixed debut campaign.

But Nunez has taken his game to a new level this season, with Jurgen Klopp hailing his “crazy” potential in his pre-match press conference earlier this week.

The forward has notched seven goals and five assists in 14 appearances across all competitions in the 2023-24 campaign.

That form is a step up from last season when he managed 15 goals and four assists in 42 games in all competitions.

Nunez, who can play as a centre-forward as well as on the left flank of a three-pronged attack, is under contract at Liverpool until June 2028.

He earns a reported wage of £140,000-a-week at Anfield.

While Man United baulked at Nunez’s asking price last year (2022), they sealed a deal worth a reported potential fee of £72million for Atalanta’s Rasmus Hojlund in the most recent summer window.

The Denmark international is yet to score in the Premier League for Erik ten Hag’s side.

In other news, Ratcliffe plans to sack Ten Hag and appoint Premier League boss.