Koeman VETOED £7m signing in 2020; now Barca want to sign him from Liverpool | OneFootball

Barcelona reportedly want to sign Darwin Nunez from Liverpool this summer. It comes four years after the last time they tried to sign him.

Sport reports that Barcelona are back in for Darwin Nunez - or at least, he's been offered to them by Jorge Mendes. And perhaps that shouldn't be a surprise as the Catalonians have been interested in Nunez for some time.

They actually bid for him back in 2020 and felt somewhat confident of securing a deal for around £7m. However, manager Ronald Koeman essentially vetoed the transfer, allowing Benfica to come in and grab him for a bigger fee.

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Now, to be fair to Koeman, Nunez had just spent a year playing in the Spanish Segunda Division at Almeria. The Uruguayan scored 16 goals, prompting interest elsewhere, but he wasn't a surefire star.

In fact, Nunez only scored six league goals across his first season in Portugal. He only exploded in his second season, bagging 26 in 28 league games and earning a big-money move to Liverpool.

Barcelona, though, never stopped looking at the player and it's possible they see an opportunity to grab him this summer. After all, Nunez's future with Liverpool couldn't really look more up in the air.

Darwin Nunez's future

Nunez has made plenty of headlines off the pitch this week. Firstly, he removed photos and references to Liverpool from his Instagram - the consensus there is that he was sick of the abuse he receives online from certain people.

The Uruguayan was then pictured in Barcelona alongside compatriot Ronald Araujo. Araujo plays for Barcelona, of course.

It's strange behaviour - or at least, the former is - from a player who isn't reportedly on the chopping block at Anfield. Still, if Sport are correct, Nunez is angling for a move to Barcelona right now.

The overall change at Liverpool this summer will naturally create an opportunity for players to move on. Nunez may well see it as his chance - and Barcelona could see it as theirs to finally get their man.

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