Darwin Nunez to Barca rumours intensify after club official spotted on scouting mission

Martin Macdonald

• Updated: 23 May 2023 08:47 CDT
• 3 min read

Barcelona are apparently still interested in Darwin Nunez despite losing out to Benfica in a transfer for the Uruguayan in the summer.

Last season, Nunez scored 16 goals for Almeria in the Spanish Segunda Division which catalysed interest in him, especially after the club failed to gain promotion to La Liga.

• Ancelotti has his say on Ronaldo’s potential return to Real Madrid

According to Spanish outlet Sport, Barca contacted Almeria in the summer about potentially bringing in Nunez as a replacement for his compatriot, Luis Suarez, only to be put off by the asking price.

Benfica took advantage, and broke their transfer record to sign the 21-year-old for £21.8 million [€24m] in a deal which also broke the record for the highest fee paid by a Portuguese team.

Nunez’s impressive form has continued, as in 2020/21 he has scored six and assisted five over all competitions, though the majority of his goals have come in the Europa League.

Nunez: Snapshot

Sport reports that, despite being bested by Benfica in the pursuit for his signature in the summer, Barcelona retain an interest in Nunez for a potential future transfer.

This theory was backed up over the weekend when the Blaugrana’s technical secretary Ramon Planes was spotted on a scouting mission over the weekend, as he took in Benfica’s 2-1 home victory over Pacos Ferreira in Lisbon.

It is believed that Barcelona are not looking to bring the Uruguayan in during the transfer window, or perhaps even in the summer, but have been keen admirers of him since his days at Penarol, and are eager to keep tabs on his development as they view him as a potential star of the future.

Though Barcelona could be doing with some more firepower in attack, they are currently in dire straits financially and wouldn’t be in a position to bring Nunez in anytime soon unless they sell first.