Darwin Núñez is being one of the great sensations of the season in Portuguese football. That has made Barcelona even more interested in him, as reported by ESPN. The club follows him closely from his time at Peñarol and even tried to take over his services last summer. But nevertheless, Almería wanted to earn more money for one of the greatest talents who has stepped on the Mediterranean Games in recent years and, therefore, he preferred to sell it to Benfica.
Now, away from the Second Division, the Uruguayan attacker has proven to live up to expectations. Despite his youth and little experience in the elite, Darwin has made an outstanding start in Portugal. Four goals and five assists in eight games endorse him. What's more, only in his debut against PAOK, when he only played 25 minutes, and in the Europa League duel against Standard de Liege he has remained without scoring or yielding a goal to any of his teammates.
His performance has intensified the interest of Barcelona. In the last transfer window, the Blaugrana club tried to reach an agreement with Almería to buy him and leave him on loan there for one season. It did not come out and Barça reactivated the Depay option, also a failure. Now, it will be the new directive that gives its opinion on whether Darwin Núñez is ready or not to arrive at the Camp Nou.
Despite this, club sources inform ESPN of the intention to advance several hires so that the new leaders have room for maneuver in the winter market. Who knows if the Punta Charrúa could be among those names. Eric García or Memphis Depay are other candidates to visit Barcelona in January. Even more so when the beginning of the season has shown the problems of the squad: shortage in the center of the rear and reconverting attackers to act as center forwards.
According to information from the journalist Moisés Llorens, Benfica has 80% of Darwin's sports rights and Ronald Koeman had already said yes to his arrival. In these times of uncertainty within the entity, a new and exciting Uruguayan appears at the end of the road. Its arrival, or not, will be a matter of time. Meanwhile, Núñez will continue taking giant steps in Portugal and you can say that he was hardened in southern Spain and with Guti as one of his mentors.