Chelsea among European clubs interested in Benfica starlet

Chelsea are one of the elite European clubs that are interested in Benfica youngster Darwin Nunez, according to reports.

Last year, Benfica broke their club-record transfer fee to sign Nunez for around £22m. They got him from Spanish second division side Almeria.

The 22-year-old established himself as a first-team regular right away last season. He scored 14 goals from his 44 outings across all competitions.

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Nunez has made a bright start to the 2021/22 season as he has netted six times from his seven outings. This includes two goals in the Champions League from Benfica’s first two group games.

In August, it was reported that Brighton had made an enquiry for the forward. 

Portuguese outlet Record (as cited by Sport Witness) have reported that Chelseahave joined the race to sign Nunez. They state that Atletico Madrid, Inter Milan, Milan and Paris Saint-Germain are also interested in him.

Nunez’s agent, Edgardo Lasalvia, recently told FC Inter News that his player is ready for a move:

“Darwin is ready to play in any team on the globe.

“Various top-level teams have contacted us, but for the moment the head is on continuing and growing with Benfica and with the Uruguayan national team: this is how important things will come.”

Meanwhile, Chelsea striker Romelu Lukaku has insisted that he “hates” being labelled as a target man or goal poacher.

The 28-year-old re-joined the Blues this summer from Inter Milan for around £97m. He has netted four times for them so far this season.

Lukaku said: “The way I’m built – I’m quite big – everybody thinks I’m a sort of target man: just holding up the ball and being a goal poacher. But I’ve never played that way and I hate it.

“My biggest strength is that I’m dangerous when I’m facing towards the goal. That’s when I rarely make wrong choices.

“After I pass the ball, I know where I have to position myself in the box. I can do a bit of everything. In some games when I know there is a lot of space behind the defence, I play differently.

“The reason I’m so productive [in front of goal] is because I can do a bit of everything.”