Aston Villa won’t sign Darwin Nunez

Steven Gerrard isn’t short of strikers with Ollie Watkins, Danny Ings, Keinan Davis, Cameron Archer and Wesley Moraes to choose from at Aston Villa, but there could be an exodus this summer that leaves him short in attack – Wesley and Davis aren’t in the manager’s plans while Archer is still young and raw.

As a result, the 41-year-old is setting his sights on potential alternatives and Josh Holland talked up the prospect of Villa signing Benfica’s Darwin Nunez to GiveMeSport. It’s hard to see the Midlands outfit pulling this off, however, due to his valuation, outstanding scoring record and competition for his signature.

The 22-year-old joined Benfica from UD Almeria in 2020 and has gone on to make 84 appearances in all competitions, scoring 48 goals with 16 assists. Nunez has bagged 34 goals in 40 games across the board this season, so he’s one of the most prolific strikers in Europe.  

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Manchester City are one of many clubs keen on the Uruguayan international, so Villa have little chance of standing up to that. There’s a matter of his lofty £60m asking price too, which would smash Villa’s transfer record by £25.5m.

Nunez would certainly improve Gerrard’s squad, but he might be aiming higher than the 13th-placed Villans.

In other news, Leon Bailey has been an expensive flop for Aston Villa