Darwin Núñez is a 22-year-old centre-forward currently playing for Benfica in the Portuguese Primeira Liga.
It was an astute purchase from Benfica, spending the equivalent of £21.6 million in the summer of 2020, doubling what Almeria had paid Penarol for his signature only a year earlier.
If Núñez were to be bought today, it would take at least double Benfica’s fee to prize him away.
We may find out sooner or later, as he is heavily linked with a move to the Premier League.
Both Manchester City and Newcastle United are reportedly interested, but Real Madrid is also rumoured to be circling.
In his first season with Benfica, Núñez notched 14 goals and 12 assists in all competitions—a quality return already included in that price tag.
Yet this season, he has already pushed on with 14 goals, albeit at the expense of being less creative for others.
Núñez only has two assists so far.
Nevertheless, this is the sort of output that is likely to encourage teams in the upper echelons of Europe’s top five leagues to seek his signature, and 2022 could well be a year where Núñez breaks into the football mainstream.
It should be noted that Núñez is also now a fully fledged international footballer, having represented his native Uruguay on six occasions and scoring twice.
This tactical football analysis and scout report provide an in-depth analysis of Núñez’s tendencies while also assessing how he fits in with Benfica’s tactics.
Darwin Núñez Role in team-play
Núñez is an effective target man but doesn’t restrict himself to remaining in the central channel.
Whilst he can play in this space, working the centre-backs, and deals well with long balls played forward, Núñez looks to explore wider spaces.
In doing so, he can find space to receive, where he can provide a line-breaking pass option, but he can also draw the opposition defenders out of position.
Núñez is able to play quick touches away from defenders and comfortably plays one-touch passes; however, he also shows an ability to hold up possession.
He backs into defenders effectively and uses his full frame to protect the ball when doing this.
He mixes up his approach by also seeking to roll a defender if they get too tight to him.
He doesn’t do this with an overly high frequency, but certainly enough to make defenders think twice about getting this tight to him.
In the following image, we can see an example of him rolling a defender in an attacking position who gets too close with little cover behind him.
Núñez has the ability to create enough space to turn in tight areas, even well inside the area.
He rolls defenders easily using the frame to get across them and allow the ball to roll past him, shielding the ball as he turns.
He scans with frequency, and his awareness of space for himself or others’ positioning is of the highest level.
When doing this in advanced positions, he doesn’t just show the skill to pull off such a move; he also does the basic things right.
In the next image, we see him calmly observing that his teammate is in a better shooting position.
He calmly rolls the ball to the player and plays it to his right foot, allowing him to shoot the first time on his strongest foot.
Yes, this is a basic detail, but it makes all the difference in a pressured situation like this.
He does an excellent job of finding space between the lines, and while his goals are vital to his team, so is his link-up play.
By filling these pockets of space, Núñez can frequently get on the ball in more developed attacking phases and impact the play.
In the next image, we can see him receiving the ball, and he has a plethora of options available to him.
With the time and space to turn and drive forward, he can lay the ball off and move into the box or play out wide and do likewise.
He can even drift in behind the opposition full-back into a crossing position, which he decides to do on this occasion.
Núñez doesn’t just use the width of the pitch to provide an option during build-up play, but regularly shifts into these areas to act as a creator too.
Firstly, Núñez shows quality in 1v1 duels as a dribbler.
This season, he has averaged 6.05 dribbles per 90 and has completed 50% of these.
He keeps his dribbling simple but is highly effective.
He simply looks to draw an opponent towards him, taking his time on the ball and hesitating momentarily, often even drawing a tackle attempt by the defender.
At the right moment, he will break away to one side of them, getting his body between them and the ball if necessary.
He doesn’t overdo the dribble, instead releasing the ball quickly after beating an opponent.
He instinctively crosses the ball into open spaces in the area and has surprisingly good accuracy and vision for a centre-forward in this department.
He can pull the ball back across goal, whip a cross in, or even lift the ball towards the back post, standing it up and allowing the target the time to get to the ball as the defending team scrambles to change direction.
In the following image, we can see him showing outstanding vision as he lifts the ball over the entirety of the opposition’s defence.
He doesn’t even look up before playing this cross.
After beating the defender with a quick touch down the line, he instinctively lifts the ball towards the back post, where the highlighted player meets it.
He shows this intuition on a frequent basis, with him not looking up before hitting these crosses, almost a trademark of some of his most creative passes.
Due to his dribbling, he is effective at creating the space to hit these crosses, but his ability to consistently hit dangerous areas with these deliveries allows him to contribute to the team, not just as a goalscorer.
Darwin Núñez Positioning and movement
All of this isn’t to say Núñez doesn’t occupy central positions.
He does do this, and he does it very well.
Núñez varies his intentions in attack, and in addition to working as a target in attack, he is also a highly dangerous runner in behind.
Núñez has quality acceleration and top speed, and his mobility allows him to change direction and break away from a tight marker quickly.
In the following image, we can see him in this central position, which you would expect from a centre-forward with his teammate in possession.
He angles his run out wide whilst still keeping his eye on the ball.
Looping his run out into this position, Núñez keeps himself well onside and then angles his run back towards the central channel, where he is met by the through pass in behind.
Note the centre-back’s position: facing the ball, albeit on the side-turn, while Núñez is already facing full forwards.
There is only one winner in this sprint race.
Núñez uses this angle consistently to create space for himself to run in behind.
He will often drift out and play on the inside of the closest full-back.
Against a high line, he is an easy outlet for his team to play the ball over the top.
Núñez will also create space for himself to run into with intelligent movements that intend to draw the opposition defence out of position.
He will take a high starting position and purposefully seek to allow himself to be man-marked.
By then making a sudden movement towards the ball, as if to show for possession, he can draw this player with him and create space in behind to run into.
The following example sees him moving towards the ball, drawing the defender forward, too, before Núñez then checks and angles his run back in behind to be found with the easy through pass.
His intelligence with this kind of movement shows maturity well beyond the years of a 22-year-old striker.
He understands how to create the best opportunity for himself to receive the ball in goal-scoring positions, and his execution on these kinds of movements is near flawless.
The following image shows him dropping out wide onto the full-back.
As the ball is played into the central striker, Núñez sees that the closest centre-back to him has had his attention and momentum drawn towards the ball.
As this occurs, Núñez then shifts back onto the outside shoulder of this centre-back, who is now none the wiser to his positioning.
He is able to stay onside with this run and create space away from the opposition right-back who had been previously marking him.
Darwin Núñez Finishing
Finally, we come to Núñez’s finishing, which is the most eye-catching part of his game from the outside but is merely the stamp mark punctuating the rest of his qualities.
Núñez’s shot map for Benfica from all competitions this season makes for fascinating viewing.
One of the most obvious things to note is that if Núñez hits the target, he generally scores, as evidenced by the majority of circles on his map being pink rather than blue.
His shots come from a wide range of positions, and he shows some accuracy when shooting from further out.
He will happily take shots from a wider angle when on the right side of the pitch, but clearly prefers not to do this when on the left side.
There are several factors that lead to Núñez being such a lethal finisher.
Firstly, his shot selection is generally of the highest level.
He doesn’t force shots, and if there isn’t room to squeeze a shot through, he takes a touch into a position where there is, or he finds a pass and then looks to move into a new space where he could potentially receive the ball in a better shooting position.
He is lethal at finding the corners as well.
There is a reason so many of his on-target shots end up in the goal, and that is because Núñez so frequently hits the bottom corner.
Through his dribbling, he can create chances for himself, again using simple hesitation and aggressive touch to one side to create space.
The next picture shows him doing this against Barcelona in the Champions League earlier this season.
After creating enough space to get the shot away, on top of now being in a far more favourable angle to score from, Núñez is ruthless in picking out the front post and putting Benfica into the lead.
Núñez is an aerial threat inside the area, too.
He has a strong physique but is still lean and quick.
He competes for aerial balls with power and excellent timing.
He is 1.87m, or 6’2”, tall and is well-built for such an aerial presence.
His movement inside the area isn’t always as proactive as that in deeper areas.
However, he is dynamic in the right moments.
In the following image, we can see him static, waiting for the cross to come into the area from the right flank.
Yet as it does, he springs into action.
He jumps early and uses his chest to lean into the opponent.
He shows outstanding core strength and impressive spring and timing in his leap to pull off this feat, which allows him to “hang” in the air for longer and gives him a clear advantage over the defender.
What’s even more impressive in this example is that on top of all of this, he still has the poise and technique to head the ball in the opposite direction of the keeper’s momentum.
To allow himself to get enough space and momentum from this initially static position to gain such an advantage over the defender, Núñez makes a late adjustment just as the cross comes in.
This is something he regularly does before attacking a cross.
He uses the motion of the ball carrier about to make the cross as a cue to quickly move out, away from his marker, before looping his run back inside.
In doing so, he gives himself two or three yards to make a run and gain momentum before attacking the ball, while the defender originally marking him is either static or backtracking.
They are also watching the ball, not Núñez’s movement, which gives the Uruguayan the edge in the aerial duel.
Conclusion
Núñez continues to impress in Portugal, both in domestic football and on the European stage.
His ability to score three goals in the Champions League has also allowed any doubters to see that he can perform in Europe’s premier competition, when there are still those who will question whether someone scoring goals in Portugal can do it in La Liga, Serie A, or the Premier League.
It is highly unlikely that there are those questioning that of Núñez now.
While he hasn’t been as creative this season, he has exceeded expectations as a scorer in front of goal.
He is a ruthless finisher, and his movement is exceptional in creating space for himself to receive the ball in dangerous positions.
And yet, as we’ve seen, Núñez is far more than just a goalscorer.
He is integral to his team’s possession play both during build-up and in the opposition half.
He has varied and intelligent movement off the ball and is comfortable operating across the pitch in different positions.
