Nikola Vasilj Gets a Teammate: Darwin Nunez Joins Al-Diriyah on Loan
The Uruguayan striker arrives on a one-year loan from Al-Hilal, and Bosnia and Herzegovina international Nikola Vasilj will gain a teammate with rich Liverpool experience.
The Uruguayan striker arrives on a one-year loan from Al-Hilal, and Bosnia and Herzegovina international Nikola Vasilj will gain a teammate with rich Liverpool experience.
Saudi club Al-Diriyah, for which Bosnia and Herzegovina international Nikola Vasilj plays, will soon receive a major boost in attack. Uruguayan striker Darwin Núñez is moving on a one-year loan from Al-Hilal, with Italian insider Fabrizio Romano confirming the transfer with his signature "Here we go."
As Romano announced on Twitter, Al-Diriyah and Al-Hilal have agreed that Núñez will play for Vasilj's club for the remainder of the current season. The loan runs until June 2027, with no purchase option included. The Uruguayan striker's full salary will be covered by Al-Diriyah.
According to the insider, the clubs have reached a verbal agreement, but contracts have not yet been signed. Preparations are underway for a medical examination, after which the transfer will be officially confirmed.
Only formalities remain before the transfer is finalized. Medical examinations for the Uruguay international are already planned, and once he passes them, he will sign the contract and join his new teammates.
The news comes shortly after Al-Diriyah's heavy 4-1 defeat to Al-Nassr. The 27-year-old striker is expected to bring goals and additional quality to a team that started the new season with high ambitions.
Núñez is already familiar with Saudi football. According to N1 BiH, he played 16 matches in the league last season, scoring six goals and providing four assists.
Sportklub, on the other hand, cites slightly different numbers: nine goals in 24 appearances for Al-Hilal. Sources disagree on the exact number of goals and matches, which could be due to different competitions (league vs. all competitions), but it is not specified.
Sportklub notes that this was his second consecutive season with fewer than ten goals. Before that, while playing for Almería, Benfica, and Liverpool, he had scored in double digits for five straight seasons.
A return to Europe and a reunion with Mohamed Salah was mentioned, but that will not happen. Trabzonspor was floated as an option, with the Turkish club making intense efforts in recent days to bring in the Uruguayan, which would have meant reuniting with Salah after their years together at Liverpool. However, Núñez has decided to stay in Saudi Arabia and accept the loan move to Al-Diriyah.
Trabzonspor fans have taken the news hard, as they dreamed of seeing the Uruguayan alongside Salah again, but Núñez will continue his career in the Saudi league with Al-Diriyah.
With his arrival, Al-Diriyah continues to strengthen its squad with several well-known names from European football. Alongside Nikola Vasilj, the club features Berat Djimsiti, Chancel Mbemba, and Georges-Kévin N'Koudou, and now they are joined by the former Liverpool striker.
For the Bosnian public, this transfer is particularly interesting because of Vasilj, who will gain another teammate in the dressing room with vast experience from the top tier of European football.
