Chelsea urged to sign 'perfect' £86m Liverpool flop to complete Enzo Maresca's dream squad

Chelsea have been urged to sign Darwin Nunez in the future, with the former Liverpool star described as the "perfect" player for Enzo Maresca's squad.

The 26-year-old joined Saudi League side Al Hilal in the summer for a fixed fee of £46.2million plus add-ons which will potentially take the deal up to £56.6million. Having joined the Reds in 2022 from Benfica for an initial fee of £64million (potentially rising to £86million), Nunez scored 40 goals in 143 games during his time on Merseyside but struggled to find the clinical edge needed to shine at Anfield.

Since moving to Saudi Arabia, the Uruguay international has scored four times and assisted his team-mates twice in seven appearances for Al Hilal. Appearing alongside the likes of Ruben Neves, Sergej Milinkovic-Savic and Kalidou Koulibaly, Nunez appears to have settled well in the Far East but a return to Europe can not be ruled out given the forward's age.

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In fact, former Chelsea and AC Milan defender Marcel Desailly believes the west Londoners should make a move for the Uruguayan at some point. Speaking to OLBG, Desailly said: "Darwin Nunez for me [would be] perfect. Spot on. Young, he had bad luck at Liverpool, but if Liverpool took him, it means that they've seen in him a real potential.

"I wanted Darwin Nunez to come into the system confident, with Maresca, with a good system. It could have really been helpful for Chelsea. Not too expensive. So this is my opinion. I would have really loved to see that player into the squad. If he's still in the market, if Saudi is not suiting him correctly, he could be the one that comes back."

Chelsea signed Liam Delap and Joao Pedro in the summer to bolster Maresca's attack, although the Englishman has been out since the end of August after suffering a serious hamstring injury. Pedro, meanwhile, started his Chelsea career at the Club World Cup in sensational form but has struggled of late and looks in need of a rest.

Bringing someone in such as Nunez could offer something different for Maresca, who guided the club to UEFA Conference League and FIFA Club World Cup glory last season. Desailly, though, believes the Blues are someway off challenging for the world's top honours with the current squad, with the former defender insisting Chelsea still need more consistency.

"Look, last year, when you started last year, you never expected that they were going to win the Conference League or win the Club World Cup," he said. "You thought that they were too young. The consistency was not there. Talented players, but not really up to the level. Premier League is super difficult. You need to have experienced players in your squad. They are trying their best. Like I mentioned, Fernandez, the Argentinian.

"Because you have to play in some field that is difficult. Going to Newcastle is difficult. You have to have the squad ready for the battle. It's intense, the Premier League, and I believe that that intensity that the Premier League is giving will not allow them to have that consistency on point to be able to win. Look what happened to Liverpool at home against United. Can you imagine?

"Where Liverpool is now, you know, stable on the tactical set-up. They won and then they got hammered by United. So it is difficult to keep that consistency and gain enough points to be able to go through. So I think they are still building up and surely you need to have that super player that has to come, not too famous. A player that has the need of fame, the need of good stats to be able to be that plus that Chelsea is looking after, to win eventually that Premier League. It's not Club World Cup, it's not Conference Cup, it is the Premier League, it is something different."