View: West Ham may have missed best chance to sign Darwin Nunez
West Ham may have missed their best chance to sign Benfica striker Darwin Nunez in January, with a host of Europe’s top clubs looking at a summer deal.
The Uruguayan hitman was subject to a £50m bid on deadline day from the Hammers, but the Portuguese giants rejected the bid and stated they had no intention of letting him go.
But while West Ham’s interest is likely to carry over into the summer as they continue to look for a striker addition, the chance to sign Nunez may have already passed them by.
22-year-old Nunez has scored 21 goals for Benfica this season and has attracted the interest of clubs such as Manchester United, Bayern Munich, Borussia Dortmund and AC Milan, according to The Mirror.
All four of those clubs are likely to be able to blow West Ham out of the water when it comes to a financial package for the player and also Benfica.
All four are also far more likely to play Champions League football in the coming seasons too, and even if the Hammers are able to pip United to a top-four finish the player will surely know it won’t be a regular occurrence.
With another half-season for Nunez to continue impressing potential suitors, it allows Benfica more time to see his potential value rise and thus rule West Ham out of the race for his signature.
It’s a huge blow if that is the case because Nunez would be the perfect signing on paper.
His goal record is exceptional, he’s young enough to still have plenty of room to improve and physically he looks built for the Premier League.
He runs the channels well, is good with both feet and in the air, can play upfront by himself or in a pair and his play with his back to goal is strong too.
Michail Antonio has been forced to do it himself over the last two seasons, but as he enters his thirties and has now added international football to his calendar, cover and competition is needed now more than ever.
Unfortunately for Irons fans, it would seemingly take a miracle to see him now end up at the London Stadium.
West Ham’s best chance of signing these top players is to move early in the market and take a risk, but on this occasion, it didn’t work out for them.
They’ll keep looking at the market for these opportunities to present themselves but it means that they’ve missed the boat on this one.
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