DARWIN’S NATURAL SELECTION

£64m Reds star Nunez picked Kop over other European giants as he’s sure Klopp will deliver more glory

DARWIN NUNEZ chose Liverpool ahead of bigname European rivals because he believes the sky’s the limit for the Reds.

The striker becomes the third Uruguayan to play for Liverpool, following in the footsteps of Luis Suarez and Sebastian Coates, after signing a six-year contract.

Liverpool will pay an initial £64million, a fee that could rise to £75m depending on appearances, with Benfica set to receive a further £10m based on trophy success.

And The 22-year-old believes he will deliver those trophies at Anfield after talks with Jurgen Klopp convinced him the Reds are genuine European superpowers.

It’s understood he turned down Manchester United, Barcelona and Atletico Madrid despite lucrative offers.

Liverpool’s new sporting director Julian Ward flew to Lisbon to seal a deal as soon as the season finished, meaning the Reds could not be gazumped by United, who strongly pursued the forward.

Nunez insisted there was never a chance of him going anywhere else after tasting the Anfield experience with Benfica in the Champions League quarter-final in April and he said: “When I arrived at the training ground, I was really surprised to see all the trophies here.

“You can imagine yourself winning more trophies and then, when you come back in later life and see the trophies on display, you can say ‘I was a part of that, I was there at that time, winning trophies.’

“That’s one of the reasons I came here to Liverpool – to win trophies and titles. I want to win a lot of trophies.”

Nunez will inherit the No.27 shirt vacated by Divock Origi, who departed this summer, and admitted he was inspired to join the club by the atmosphere he experienced at Anfield in April.

It is understood that the striker has agreed a contract which places him in the mid-range of

Liverpool’s earners, allowing the Mersey club to maintain their wage structure.

Sadio Mane now seems certain to join German giants Bayern Munich after failed negotiations over a new deal at Anfield. Liverpool manager Klopp (left) is excited by the new arrival, who scored in both legs of that Champions League quarter-final, which Liverpool won 6-4 on aggregate.

“Darwin is a wonderful player, with so much potential to get even better,” he said. “He is as excited by us as we are by him, which makes for a great relationship when you appreciate each other’s strengths. That is certainly the case here. He thinks we suit him and we believe he is the right fit for us.

“His age, his desire, his hunger to be even better than he currently is. His belief in our project and what we are looking to do as a club. He plays without fear, he’s powerful. I know he will excite our supporters. He has all the pieces we look for. He can set a tempo, brings energy, threatens space from central and wide areas. He is aggressive and dynamic with his movement.

“We have wonderful attacking options already and he becomes part of that now. So there is no pressure on him at all.”