Bruno Fernandes and PSG both admire a striker dubbed the heir to Darwin Núñez, with the French giants making a move. No doubt Jürgen Klopp would love him
too.
Liverpool’s 3-3 draw with Benfica in the second leg of the 2021/22 Champions League quarter-finals could be described as the match that made the Reds buy
Darwin Núñez.
Núñez had already scored in the first leg, a 3-1 defeat for the Portuguese side, but Liverpool simply could not contain him in the return fixture as he found another
level.
In between two efforts that were disallowed for marginal offsides, Núñez made it 3-3 by expertly steering the ball around an onrushing Alisson.
Another of Benfica’s scorers on what was a wild Anfield night was Gonçalo Ramos, who dispatched an unsaveable effort past the Brazilian goalkeeper to pull
Liverpool back to 1-1 after creeping in behind the defense.
Twelve months after Núñez sealed a blockbuster move to a European heavyweight, Ramos will follow in his footsteps, with reigning Ligue 1 champion Paris Saint-
Germain sealing an $88m (£69m/€80m) deal for the 22-year-old.PSG will initially sign him on loan before making the deal permanent next year for an initial fee of
$71m (£56m/€65m), with a further $16m (£13m/€15m) potentially arriving in add-ons.
Ramos, a product of the Benfica academy, only managed eight goals and four assists in 46 appearances in that 21/22 season, and so he very much remained in
Núñez’s shadow. He hadn’t yet established himself in the first XI, starting just half of his side’s 34 Primeira Liga games and four of its 10 European outings.
But part of the reason Benfica didn’t use the proceeds of Núñez’s sale (an initial $82m/£64m/€74m) to recruit a high-profile successor was that it backed Ramos to
step up, and he did so spectacularly.
The forward hit 27 goals and provided 12 assists in 47 outings in all competitions, leading his division for non-penalty goals (19). Only 14 players based in Europe’s
top 15 leagues enjoyed more prolific seasons than that.
Ramos announced himself at international level with similar splendor by netting a hat-trick in Portugal’s 6-1 victory over Switzerland in the World Cup round of 16.
He was under enormous pressure to deliver after Cristiano Ronaldo was dropped, but he responded by becoming the first player to bag a treble on their debut in the
tournament since Germany’s Miroslav Klose in 2002.
He may have been Núñez’s direct successor at the Estádio da Luz, but he’s a different kind of striker. He’s not quite as prolific, perhaps (Núñez hit 34 in 21/22), but
he’s stronger when it comes to link-up play, as his double-figure assist tally demonstrates.
This is partly a result of Ramos’ experience in a second striker role behind a out-and-out number nine, which has seen compared to Germany legend Thomas Müller.
“I think I have some similarities with him and he is also an example for me,” he told UEFA. “Considering what I do and what he does, I like to be compared to him.
It’s a position I feel comfortable in in the game. I’ve always played in that position since I started.
“I like to be involved and participate in the game, and I think that brings out the best in me, which is my competitiveness, my willingness to work to help my
colleagues; and also my intelligence when it comes to team positioning and organization.”
Jürgen Klopp is an enormous fan of Müller, even if the pair were on opposing sides of the Borussia Dortmund/Bayern Munich rivalry. He told Amazon’s ‘FC Bayern
– Behind the Legend’ documentary that Müller is an ‘incredibly clever’ player with ‘brilliant’ movement, and based on that glowing verdict, he’d certainly be a big fan
of Ramos too.
The Portuguese has now got the big money move that was bound to come, having previously been a target for Manchester United. Indeed, international teammate
Bruno Fernandes publicly stated that he’d be a hit at Old Trafford if a deal was done (via The Mirror).
Meanwhile, there remains debate over the wisdom of Liverpool’s potential club-record move for Núñez after a mixed first season that saw the 24-year-old score 14
times and squander a vast number of big opportunities.
If Ramos thrives in the spotlight at PSG, then maybe will some argue Liverpool approached the right club, but for the wrong player at the wrong time. Perhaps, they
will argue, the Reds should have waited a year for the next great talent coming off a renowned production line, a center-forward of a different mold.
However, if Ramos struggles, or Núñez makes the required improvements in his finishing, then it will look like Klopp made the right call.
In a sense, then, PSG will play an important role in shaping the narrative around a marquee Liverpool transfer.
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