Christopher Nkunku Chelsea
Chelsea Football Club Stamford Bridge
According to Sky Sports Germany’s Florian Plettenberg, Christopher Nkunku has decided that he has no future at Chelsea and wants to leave as soon as the current season comes to an end.
Nkunku’s current contract runs until 2029, having joined the Blues for a reported fee of around £52 million in 2023. Sadly, his career has not taken off in the Premier League – primarily due to injury problems. This season, after the arrivals of Pedro Neto and Jadon Sancho, he’s fallen further down the pecking order and now, Enzo Maresca has no use of him.
Chelsea are willing to give the French international a lifeline as they will not stand in his way if a good offer comes in the summer. However, the Blues are demanding around £60 million for the forward and this absurd pricing could cause a few issues in his exit.
He might not be valued at Chelsea but the forward has several suitors in the Premier League – namely Arsenal and Liverpool. His versatility can help solve a lot of problems for both these teams but Chelsea will have to lower their demands for Liverpool or Arsenal to make any sort of formal move for Christopher Nkunku.
Will Christopher Nkunku join Liverpool?
Liverpool will sell Darwin Nunez and Diogo Jota and there’s a chance Luis Diaz might also leave the club. In such a scenario, Arne Slot will need proper reinforcements and thankfully, Nkunku can play in each of these positions. He is primarily a centre-forward but for RB Leipzig, he mostly played as an attacking midfielder and as a supporting striker.
The 27-year-old is also comfortable at playing on the left wing, having played there 22 times for the German side.
Nkunku has all the potential to shine under a coach like Arne Slot but there’s no way the Liverpool management will agree to pay £60 million for such an injury-prone player. They will have a lot of power in the transfer market because they have just won the Premier League and so, if they do have to spend that much money then it will be on a world-class talent like Benjamin Sesko or Alexander Isak.
A move to Arsenal on the cards?
Arsenal are another side who have been linked with Christopher Nkunku but the fans will not be very happy if the Gunners go ahead and sign the Chelsea misfit – especially after what happened with Raheem Sterling.
Sterling arrived at the Emirates Stadium amidst a lot of hype but he’s been a massive failure and the last thing Mikel Arteta will want is another flop sitting on the bench.
Like Liverpool, Arsenal are also searching for a new striker but they have bigger ambitions as they are being linked with top centre-forwards like Sesko, Osimhen and Gyokeres. The board would much rather spend money on these in-form players rather than gamble on Christopher Nkunku.
A replacement for Alexander Isak?
Alexander Isak’s great form has attracted massive interest and reports suggest that if NUFC fail to qualify for the Champions League they will have to let him leave as part of a gentleman’s agreement.
Barcelona, PSG, Arsenal, Liverpool and even Chelsea have been linked with the 25-year-old and if he does end up leaving then the Magpies could try and bring in Christopher Nkunku as the long-term replacement.
Yes, signing such an injury-prone player will be a major gamble but he’s the kind of player who could shine under Eddie Howe’s guidance. He’s kept himself injury-free for some time and if he can continue that then he can become a regular feature for the Magpies next season.
And for Newcastle, if they can offload Isak for a handsome fee, they won’t have to worry about paying the £60 million that’s being demanded by Chelsea.
Conclusion:
If Christopher Nkunku wants to leave Chelsea and remain in the Premier League then Newcastle United seems to be his best bet at the moment but the forward has also attracted interested from outside England – namely PSG.
He started his youth career with Paris Saint Germain and if he thinks that moving out of the EPL will be beneficial for him then a return to his boyhood club will make sense.