Chelsea transfer news: Darwin Nunez reaches transfer agreement amid rumours

7 Might 2026 11:59 BST |
5 min learn

Robin Bairner
|
Chief Editor

Accredited soccer journalist and editor masking the sport since 2006

Darwin Nunez has determined to depart Saudi Professional League aspect Al-Hilal in the summertime amid experiences that he might be on his means again to the Premier League, with Chelsea reportedly holding an curiosity within the ex-Liverpool striker.

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Nunez has discovered life tough in Saudi Arabia since leaving Liverpool in a €53 million switch final summer time. After scoring six targets in 16 Professional League matches, the arrival of Karim Benzema in the course of the January window noticed him knocked out of the squad, which means he couldn’t play league video games.

The 26-year-old has now “reached an settlement” to depart Al-Hilal in the summertime, based on Uruguayan supply Referi.

Who needs to signal him?

There are quite a few main golf equipment focusing on Nunez, regardless of the previous Benfica man failing to discover a area of interest in Saudi Arabia.

Sources in Uruguay revealed as early as March that Chelsea and Newcastle are excited by signing the striker in the summertime, with rumours linking the Stamford Bridge aspect with the hitman quietly effervescent away since.

Golf equipment from Serie A are additionally finding out the case rigorously. AC Milan and Juventus each have the centre-forward, whose Estimated Switch Worth (ETV) sits at €29.6m, into account.

Actually, Al-Hilal stand little likelihood of creating again the total sum they paid Liverpool for the striker, whereas Nunez himself must take a sizeable pay minimize to return to European soccer.

Darwin Nunez to Chelsea: A risk-reward transfer

Nunez’s struggles in Saudi Arabia make him a transparent danger for Chelsea, but across the €30m value level, the Stamford Bridge outfit might nicely see him as a market alternative.

Simply 4 years in the past, in any case, Liverpool signed him for practically thrice that determine, and he proved in his time at Anfield that he’s a singular handful for Premier League defenders.

Former Blues stalwart Marcel Desailly, a World Cup winner with France in 1998, stated: “I’d really advocate Nunez to Chelsea. He’s an excellent participant, an clever participant; he simply wants the proper atmosphere to carry out. When Liverpool recognized his potential, they knew what that they had statistically.”

A participant in ‘fast decline’

Nunez had a blended three-year spell at Liverpool, throughout which he scored 25 Premier League targets however turned a fan favorite along with his perspective and work charge.

Would this translate to the 25-year-old changing into a hit at Chelsea?

SciSports means that the margin for error on this deal is massive. Though Nunez nonetheless has spectacular potential, the current development in his improvement has been alarming.

His degree has been plummeting downwards during the last six months, with SciSports describing his type as having been in ‘fast decline’.

To place this into perspective, Nunez solely managed to attain six targets in 16 appearances within the Saudi Professional League this season.

Many of the Saudi Professional League’s main scorers are netting at a charge of 1 per sport. Ivan Toney, for instance, has 26 in 26 for Al Ahli whereas Cristiano Ronaldo has 23 in 23 for Al Nassr.

Nunez’s purpose charge is eclipsed by the likes of Joshua King and Gini Wijnaldum and is extra akin to that of veteran ahead Alexandre Lacazette, the previous Arsenal ahead. This isn’t the bar that Chelsea anticipate of their centre-forwards and too usually in current seasons they’ve been let down by their No.9s.

Right here’s the upside…

It’s too early to write down the obituaries for Nunez’s profession. Even when his present type is displaying an alarming downward development, he’s not but hit his peak and has clearly been battling in an atmosphere that doesn’t optimise him.

SciSports exhibits this along with his potential Talent degree of 78.5, which exceeds that of Delap (75.6) and is larger than Joao Pedro’s present degree (72.2).

His value can also be more likely to be comparatively engaging given that he’s clearly surplus to necessities at Al Hilal. In the event that they have been in a position to full a deal round his Estimated Switch Worth (ETV) of underneath €30m, it might begin to appear to be cheap enterprise.

Regardless, it’s clear that the signing Nunez could be a bet, and with supporter unrest over their switch coverage, it’s one which the Blues can scarcely afford to get flawed.

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