Chelsea leading the race to secure the services of €70m South American star

Chelsea among clubs leading the transfer race for Benfica striker Darwin Nunez

According to David Ornstein of The Athletic (Subscription Required), Chelsea are among the clubs who are leading the race to facilitate a move for Benfica striker Darwin Nunez in the summer transfer window. He has earned rave reviews for his performances this season, which have attracted quite a lot of attention across Europe.

Nunez is expected to be one of the major transfers that will take place at the end of this campaign. The Portuguese club are willing to let him go this summer, with the early negotiations set to be concluded in the coming weeks. Multiple top European clubs are tracking him at this moment, but the Blues are among the leaders for now.

Manchester United and Paris Saint-Germain also join Thomas Tuchel’s side as the favourites to facilitate a move this summer. As Aguias would be willing to part ways with the Uruguayan for a fee in the region of €70million. They would also like to finalise a transfer soon so that they can find adequate replacements for the forward.

Another striker in Nunez?

Our pursuit to sign the 22-year-old would mean that there are probably plans to move out some of the failed transfers this summer. After all, it would not make sense for us to add another centre-forward to our ranks when there is already Timo Werner and Romelu Lukaku as options.

Werner seems to be the likely choice who could leave after this campaign, considering how he has had more than enough time to turn things around at Stamford Bridge. Lukaku may stay past this summer, as it would be reactionary to deem him dispensable just after one season at the club.

Nunez would be a great choice following a departure as he can play as a striker and an inside forward on the left-hand side as well. His defensive output through pressing in the attack makes him a better prospect as it would suit Tuchel’s tactics employed in the 3-4-3 formation.

The South American seems to be a superstar in the making as he recently scored a hattrick against Belenenses, helping his side to a 3-1 victory in the process. He has now increased his tally to 31 goals and three assists this term from 37 matches across all competitions.

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Having someone like the Primeira Liga ace in our squad would undoubtedly be useful as we have lacked a prolific goal scorer in the ranks. While Kai Havertz has been decisive, his rate of output in front of the goal still needs improvement. Nunez would be a great option for us under the current circumstances.

While we are in the pole position right now, Man United and PSG are also in the same boat, which means that we should be on our toes at all times. Fortunately, the Red Devils have their managerial search to deal with, while the French side’s pursuit to sign Nunez depends on Kylian Mbappe’s future. That does give us some relief, especially when we are going through an ownership uncertainty.