As Chelsea’s striker curse continues, Marcel Desailly has pointed toward an unlikely saviour: former Liverpool striker Darwin Núñez.
With a goal contribution every 119 minutes at Anfield, is the Uruguayan the bargain solution the Premier League missed?
It is the kind of transfer link that would have caused a meltdown on social media just eighteen months ago. But as Chelsea continues its seemingly eternal search for a striker who can actually find the back of the net, a familiar face from Anfield’s recent past has emerged as a shock solution.
According to Chelsea legend Marcel Desailly, the answer to the goalscoring woes at Stamford Bridge lies with a man who divided opinion on Merseyside like no other: Darwin Núñez.
The Uruguayan, who departed Liverpool for the riches of the Saudi Pro League in a £46m move last August, is reportedly facing an uncertain future at Al-Hilal following the arrival of Karim Benzema. And with Chelsea’s summer signing Liam Delap struggling to hit a barn door netting just three times in 31 appearances—Desailly believes the ‘chaos factor’ is exactly what the Londoners need.
The Darwin Nunez Liverpool verdict: better than the memes suggested?
To the rival fans who fueled the “agent of chaos” narrative, Núñez was a figure of fun. But to those who watched him week-in, week-out under both Jurgen Klopp and Arne Slot, the reality was far more nuanced.
While his finishing could occasionally leave the Kop tearing its hair out, his raw output was undeniable. During his stint at Anfield, Nunez averaged a goal contribution every 119 minutes. In total, he racked up 25 goals and 16 assists in 95 Premier League appearances hardly the record of a “flop.”
He left Liverpool with a Premier League winner’s medal and an EFL Cup, but more importantly, he left a hole in the squad that required a tactical shift. He was a player who thrived on the high-octane atmosphere of Anfield but, as Desailly notes, often suffered when the confidence dipped.
“I would actually recommend Núñez for Chelsea,” Desailly told FootItalia. “He’s a very good player, a smart player – he just needs the right environment to perform. It’s like Dennis Bergkamp going to Inter Milan things went completely wrong. That’s what happened to Núñez at Liverpool. But the quality is still there.”
A bargain blueprint or another Chelsea gamble?
The logic behind a Chelsea move is simple: desperation meets availability. Núñez is only 26 and, due to squad registration issues in Saudi Arabia, would likely be available for a cut-price fee compared to the astronomical sums Chelsea have wasted on strikers in the post-Diego Costa era.
For Liverpool fans, seeing Núñez line up in the blue of Chelsea would be a bitter pill to swallow, especially given how hard the Anfield faithful worked to sing his name through the lean spells.
However, the Premier League is a ruthless business. If Chelsea decide to pull the trigger on a “bargain” deal for the former Red, they aren’t just buying a striker; they are buying the unpredictability that once made Liverpool the most feared transition team in Europe.
Whether the Stamford Bridge crowd would have the same patience as the Kop for Darwin’s “nearly” moments is another matter entirely. But in a league where goalscorers are the rarest currency, Chelsea might just be crazy enough to embrace the chaos once more.
