Trabzonspor Targets Darwin Núñez as Al-Hilal Negotiations Heat Up

Trabzonspor have taken a bold step into the summer market, reaching an agreement with Darwin Núñez over personal terms, according to renowned Turkish journalist Yagiz Sabuncuoglu.

Now comes the hard part: convincing Al-Hilal.

The Saudi club paid Liverpool around €53 million for the Uruguayan striker just last year and tied him down until 2028. They are under no pressure to sell and are not expected to entertain any offer that falls short of their valuation. Sabuncuoglu’s report does not specify how much Al-Hilal are demanding, but the negotiations are described as complicated.

Pay cut on the table

For Núñez, the move would not just be a change of scenery. It would mean a sizeable financial sacrifice.

He is believed to earn around €15 million net per season at Al-Hilal. Trabzonspor, who finished third in the most recent Süper Lig campaign, can reportedly stretch to a maximum of €8 million annually. If the deal happens, it happens with a pay cut.

Yet the project has pull. The Black Sea club are rebuilding with ambition and star power, and they have already landed one headline name.

Reunion with Salah in Trabzon?

At Trabzonspor, Núñez would be reunited with a familiar face from his Liverpool days. Mohamed Salah, who left Anfield on a free transfer, has already arrived in Trabzon to huge fanfare.

The pair formed part of Liverpool’s attack between 2022 and 2025. Now, there is a real possibility of them leading the line together again in the claret and blue, this time in north-eastern Turkey rather than at Anfield.

Armed with Salah and potentially Núñez, Trabzonspor want to crash the Istanbul party, take on serial champions Galatasaray and push for a first league title since 2022. The intent is clear: they are not content with just being the best of the rest.

Frozen out in Saudi Arabia

For Al-Hilal, the situation is very different to when Núñez arrived.

The 27-year-old was abruptly frozen out at the start of February following the arrival of Karim Benzema. Because of the strict foreign-player quota in the Saudi Pro League, Al-Hilal had to remove one foreign player from their domestic squad. They chose Núñez.

From that point, his season effectively stopped. He featured only twice more, both times in the AFC Champions League up to mid-February, and has now gone half a year without a competitive appearance.

Before the axe fell, he had put up respectable numbers: nine goals and five assists in 24 matches for Al-Hilal. The output was there. The space in the squad was not.

Right now, the club are described as completely open to selling. Open, though, does not mean cheap.

Loan, option, and a place in transfer history

Trabzonspor’s preferred formula is a loan with a purchase option. It would spread the financial hit and give them some protection if the move does not work out. Whether Al-Hilal accept that structure is another battle entirely.

There is also a wider subplot. If the eventual fee hits the expected range, Núñez is on the brink of entering a very exclusive club.

Across his career so far, a total of €184 million has already been spent on his transfers. Should this deal add at least €16 million to that tally, he would become only the ninth footballer in history to break the €200 million barrier in cumulative transfer fees.

From Liverpool to Riyadh and now potentially to the Black Sea coast, Núñez’s journey has already been expensive. The question now is simple: will his next move light up Trabzon – and the Süper Lig title race – all over again?