Liverpool on Saturday morning took another big step in their now almost complete pursuit of Uruguayan striker Darwin Nunez, reaching an agreement with Benfica for the sale of the 22-year-old.

According to Fabrizio Romano, representatives of Liverpool and Benfica met in Portugal on Saturday morning, a meeting in which a verbal agreement was reached between the two parties, as well as between Liverpool and Nunez’s agents.

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Romano further reported that the deal is pretty much done, with “only [a] medical now pending” that is slated to be held sometime next week.

Meanwhile, Uruguay confirmed that Nunez was not on the squad for Saturday night’s World Cup qualifier match against Panama, with several reports suggesting that the forward could fly to England as early as Monday to sign the required paperwork and complete his medical.

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As for details of the deal, Romano reported that Liverpool and Benfica have reached an agreement for a total of €100 million (£85.4 million): €80 million (£68.3 million) plus €20 million (£17 million).

If the transfer falls through as expected, the figure would eclipse Virgil Van Dijk‘s signing fee of £75 million, which, for now, remains Liverpool’s most expensive signing till date.

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Yet, if Nunez’s last season with Benfica is anything to go by, he may well be worth every penny and more: the 22-year-old netted 34 goals in 41 games for Benfica across all competitions, bagging 26 goals in 28 league games, and 6 goals in 10 Champions League games.

While the Premier League is admittedly a much more competitive league to play in, Nunez, standing 6 ft 2 in tall and weighing 80kg, has all the physical attributes to play as a big centre forward. Yet, there are other dimensions to his game too: the Uruguayan is capable of dropping down to drag defenders out of position and create play, and can also be effective operating as an inverted winger on the left flank.