Darwin Núñez Set for Trabzonspor Move to Reunite with Salah

Darwin Núñez is on the verge of another fresh start. One year after leaving Liverpool for Al‑Hilal in a £46m deal, the Uruguayan striker is now close to joining Trabzonspor, where Mohamed Salah is waiting for him.

The move would bring together two former Anfield forwards whose careers have taken very different paths since leaving Merseyside. Salah ended his glittering nine‑year spell at Liverpool this summer and signed a two‑year contract with Trabzonspor last week. Núñez, meanwhile, has been searching for a stable home ever since he walked away from the Premier League.

His departure from Liverpool last summer formed part of a ruthless reset. The club banked more than £250m by offloading players deemed expendable, money that underpinned a record £455m recruitment drive. That spree delivered headline arrivals such as Florian Wirtz, Alexander Isak, Hugo Ekitike, Giovanni Leoni, Milos Kerkez and Jeremie Frimpong. Núñez, once tipped to explode on Merseyside, instead bowed out with an emotional farewell message as he headed for Saudi Arabia.

The reset did not stop there. At Al‑Hilal, the 25‑year‑old soon found himself pushed to the margins again after the arrival of Karim Benzema. A year that was supposed to re‑launch his career has instead left him back on the market.

Now Turkey beckons.

According to Turkish journalist Yagiz Sabuncuoglu, Trabzonspor have reached an agreement with Núñez and opened talks with Al‑Hilal to finalise the deal. Reports indicate the transfer is likely to be a loan rather than a permanent move.

That detail matters. A temporary switch would hand Núñez a crucial window to repair his reputation, sharpen his finishing and remind Europe’s elite why Liverpool once invested so heavily in him. A strong season in the Süper Lig could drive up his valuation and tempt top European clubs if Al‑Hilal decide to cash in down the line.

It is not the first route explored. Talks were held last month with MLS side Atlanta, but discussions never advanced beyond the early stages and the move faded away. Trabzonspor have now stepped into that gap with the lure of Salah and the promise of a central role.

Núñez’s numbers at Liverpool still divide opinion. He made 143 appearances, scored 40 goals and supplied 26 assists. Those are not the statistics of a flop, yet he regularly found himself in the firing line, criticised for missed chances and erratic finishing as much as he was praised for his movement and chaos.

From inside the game, the view has often been different. Atlético Madrid defender Álex Grimaldo, who played with Núñez at Benfica, has previously voiced his confusion at the level of scrutiny the striker faced in England.

“I thought that when he went to Liverpool, he was perfect for the Premier League, the type of player, and for Liverpool above all,” Grimaldo told After de Post United, via El Universo. “He was a very fast, very powerful striker, with a lot of goals, a good shot.

“I think he’s scored a lot of goals, he’s played… I just don’t understand the criticism. It always happens that when there’s a very high price, they demand double or triple, and it’s not the player’s fault, because the player has nothing to do with the price. It’s between clubs.

“So, in the end, you go to a team like Liverpool, there’s pressure, they demand a lot of you. There's always criticism, but I think he’s scored a lot of goals and assists for Liverpool anyway.”

Now the price tag will follow him to Turkey, even if the deal is only a loan. The expectations will follow too. Yet this time, Núñez would walk into a dressing room led by a familiar figure in Salah, a player who knows exactly what it takes to rebuild and redefine a career.

If the agreement is completed, Núñez will arrive in Trabzon not as a project for the future, but as a forward who needs to deliver now. The question is no longer whether he can thrive at Liverpool. It is whether Turkey becomes the stage where his career finally settles into the shape it always promised.