Gonzalo de Los Santos will forever be able to recall his first distinctive sighting of Darwin Nunez. It was in the spring of 2018 at Club Atlético Penarol’s Montevideo-based training complex and it took the former Uruguay and Valencia midfielder just a single glance at a half-fit version of the forward before he forced himself to uncharacteristically intervene.
“When I saw him train after his patella injury, I immediately spoke to the coach of the first team and told him to add him to the main squad,” Los Santos, the former Penarol sporting director, tells the ECHO. “His mentality was very strong and he wanted to grow."
While the Uruguayan continued in his recovery from a second significant injury to his left knee, Los Santos had been made aware of the prodigy's potential less than a year after taking up a boardroom role at Penarol.
