Trabzonspor's Ambitious Move for Darwin Núñez and Mohamed Salah Reunion
Trabzonspor are trying to pull off one of the most audacious moves of the summer: reuniting Darwin Núñez with Mohamed Salah on the shores of the Black Sea.
Renowned Turkish journalist Yagiz Sabuncuoglu reports that the Super Lig side have reached an agreement with Núñez on personal terms. The real battle now sits with his club, Al-Hilal, where negotiations are ongoing and expected to be anything but straightforward.
A costly striker, a complicated deal
Al-Hilal only signed Núñez from Liverpool last year for a fee of 53 million euros. He is tied to the Saudi club until 2028, which gives them all the leverage they need. Sabuncuoglu’s report does not disclose Al-Hilal’s asking price, but with four years left on his deal, they are not expected to entertain any bargain offers.
Trabzonspor’s preferred formula is clear: a loan with a purchase option. Whether Al-Hilal accept that structure will define the deal. They are described as completely open to selling the 27-year-old, yet open does not mean desperate. Not at this price bracket.
If the fee eventually climbs to the “expected” level, Núñez would cross a remarkable threshold. He is currently at 184 million euros in cumulative transfer fees across his career. Just 16 million euros more would see him become only the ninth player in football history to break the 200-million-euro mark.
From frozen out in Saudi Arabia to a starring role in Turkey?
Núñez’s situation in Riyadh has deteriorated sharply in 2024. The turning point came in early February, when Karim Benzema arrived and Al-Hilal had to comply with the Saudi Pro League’s strict foreign-player limit.
Someone had to be sacrificed. They chose Núñez.
He was removed from the domestic league squad and, from that moment, his season effectively stopped. The Uruguayan forward featured only twice more in the AFC Champions League up to mid-February and has now gone around half a year without a competitive appearance.
Before being sidelined, his numbers were solid: nine goals and five assists in 24 matches for Al-Hilal. Not spectacular, but certainly not the profile of a player you would expect to vanish from the picture.
The salary gap
For Núñez, the move would not just be about minutes and status. It would hit his wallet.
At Al-Hilal, he is believed to earn around 15 million euros net per year. Trabzonspor, who finished third in the most recent Süper Lig season, can reportedly stretch to a maximum of eight million euros annually.
So the striker would need to accept a significant pay cut to make the switch. That financial gap is as much a part of the negotiation as the transfer fee itself.
Salah, Núñez and a bold title charge
The sporting lure is obvious. At Trabzonspor, Núñez would walk back into a dressing room with a very familiar face.
Between 2022 and 2025, he shared Liverpool’s attack with Mohamed Salah, forming part of a front line that terrorised defences across England and Europe. Salah has now arrived in Trabzon on a free transfer, greeted with huge fanfare after his emotional exit from Anfield.
The idea of Salah feeding Núñez again, this time in claret and blue, is exactly the kind of vision that excites a club trying to punch through Istanbul’s dominance. With the Egyptian already in place and Núñez potentially on the way, Trabzonspor are arming themselves to go after serial champions Galatasaray and hunt their first league title since 2022.
The question now is simple, and entirely in Saudi hands: will Al-Hilal sign off on a deal that sends one of their most expensive assets to a Turkish challenger, and in doing so, help create one of the most intriguing attacking duos in Europe’s fringes?
