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Liverpool are close to signing Uruguay striker Darwin Nunez from Portuguese club Benfica, BBC reported.

The deal is expected to be worth an initial £64m with about £21m in add-ons.

Nunez, 22, scored 34 times in 41 appearances across all competitions for Benfica last season.

He also scored twice against Liverpool as Benfica were beaten 6-4 across two legs by the Reds in the Champions League quarter-finals.

After their second meeting, Liverpool boss Jurgen Klopp predicted Nunez had "a big career ahead of him", describing him as "physically strong, quick, [and] calm around his finish".

A medical has yet to take place but it is believed Liverpool sporting director Julian Ward was in Portugal over the weekend to hold talks, according to BBC.

Premier League rivals Manchester United were reportedly also interested in signing Nunez, who cost Benfica 24m euros (£20.5m) when he signed from Spanish side Almeria in 2020.

Liverpool's record transfer is the £75m paid for centre-back Virgil van Dijk following his transfer from Southampton in 2018 - and the deal for Nunez could surpass that depending on the amount of the add-ons.

The forward scored six times in 10 Champions League games for Benfica last term, while he managed 26 goals and four assists in 28 league matches. 

Nunez's expected arrival could see him replace Sadio Mane, who is in the final year of his contract with Liverpool and is attracting the interest of Bayern Munich, BBC reported.

The Reds have rejected a deal worth £30m from the German champions for the 30-year-old Senegal forward.

The club's 27-year-old Japan international Takumi Minamino is also attracting the interestof a number of clubs.

Coach Mauricio Pochettino is to leave Paris St-Germain following talks with the club at the end of last week, BBC reported.

PSG are still to make a formal announcement but it is understood the former Tottenham manager, 50, will not serve the final year of his contract.

Zinedine Zidane, Jose Mourinho and Nice coach Christophe Galtier are among those linked with replacing Pochettino.

PSG regained the French title last term but the Argentine failed to lead them beyond the Champions League's last 16.

Although they were beaten by eventual winners Real Madrid, PSG held a 2-0 aggregate advantage with less than half an hour remaining in their second leg, according to BBC.

Pochettino claimed the first trophies of his managerial career with PSG - the 2021 Coupe de France and 2022 Ligue 1 title - but the club's hierarchy felt that was the minimum he should achieve given the squad at his disposal.

The ex-Spurs manager was considered a potential replacement for Ole Gunnar Solskjaer at Manchester United before they appointed interim boss Ralf Rangnick and then Solskjaer's permanent successor Erik ten Hag, BBC reported.

A match between Nepal and the United States of America under the triangular one day series of the ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup League 2 has ended in a draw.

The match was played at the Moosa Cricket Stadium in the US.

With this, both the teams have shared a point each. Elected to batting first after winning the toss, Nepal posted a 275-run target in 49.2 overs at the loss of all wickets. Chasing down the target, the US hit 274 runs in the allotted 50 overs losing six wickets, thus tying the match at a draw.

As the match entered excitement level, the US needed a run off two balls in the final over for a win. Nepal’s Aadil Ansari dismissed Aaron Jones at the fifth ball while Rahul Jariwala was also run out at the sixth ball of the final over.

For the US, Steven Taylor hit 114 runs, Captain Monank Patel 85 runs and Jones 26 runs.

For Nepal, Ansari took two wickets, Sandeep Lamichhane and Sompal Kami one each.

The US needed six runs off one over. But, Ansari played in style and conceded only five runs in the final over, helping the match to end in a draw.

For Nepal, Vice-Captain Rohit Paudel made 62 runs, Aashif Shekh 61 runs and Dev Khanal 54 runs.

Similarly, Ansari contributed 36 runs and Kushal Bhurtel 19. Captain Lamichhane made 10 runs.

For the US, Rusty Theron claimed four wickets, Ali Khan and Saurabh Netravalkar two each. Ansari was announced the player of the match.

Nepal conceded a 13-run defeat to Oman in its first match under the series. Nepal is meeting Oman in its third match on Tuesday. 

Nepal lost to Kuwait in the third round of the AFC Asian Cup 2023 qualifiers.

Nepal lost to host Kuwait 1-4 in the third round Group A match played at the Jabir Al Ahmed Stadium in Kuwait last night.

Yousef Al Suleiman scored two goals while Fahad Alresidi and Mubarak Alfanini scored one each.

Darshan Gurung scored the only goal for Nepal. This is the second defeat of Nepal in the qualifiers. Earlier, Nepal had lost 0-2 to Jordan in the first match.

Nepal will now play its last match against Indonesia on June 14.