Arriving for £52million almost two years ago to the day, there was so much excitement regarding Christopher Nkunku. At RB Leipzig, the versatile Frenchman established himself as a goal-scoring forward who could play virtually anywhere across the front line. It was exactly - and this cannot be emphasised enough - what Chelsea needed at the time.
The Blues had just finished 12th in the Premier League table in a disastrous season that saw the squad score just 38 goals over the course of the season. Nkunku's time at Leipzig, that got considerably better as time went on, saw him finish his time at the Red Bull Arena with a better than one-goal-in-three-games record.
However, after suffering an injury in Chelsea's pre-season tour of the United States, Nkunku would go on to miss the first four months of his debut campaign in England. After a much-needed run of games in and around the starting XI, Nkunku then picked up a hamstring injury in March that kept him on the sidelines for two months. He finished with just 11 appearances in all competitions in his debut season for the Blues.
There was plenty of excitement for what would be his first real season last summer when Chelsea once again jetted off over the Atlantic Ocean to the US. After scoring in three of the Blues' six pre-season matches, there was even more buzz around what Nkunku could do in a Chelsea shirt.
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He scored in both legs of the Conference League playoff win against Servette in August and added his third goal of the season - with a crucial late winner - down at Bournemouth. Nkunku, though, was not being used in the Premier League anywhere near as often as he would have liked and frustration from the player's side started to grow.
Nkunku had already scored 12 goals by the time Christmas came around but the vast majority of those were in cup competitions. And when the January transfer window opened, speculation over the Frenchman's future was rife. Manchester United approached Chelsea over signing the former Leipzig man, football.london understands, and they were not alone because Bayern Munich had also contacted the Blues over a potential move.
Chelsea, though, were keen to keep hold of Nkunku for the remainder of the season at the very least and their decision was vindicated in February when Nicolas Jackson suffered a hamstring injury that would end up keeping him out of action for two months. Nkunku's presence in the side became more prominent with Jackson out, but the forward was frustrating with his performance levels.
Enzo Maresca has said on numerous occasions that he sees Nkunku as a natural No.10 option, though with Jackson missing, he was being used as more of a central striker. It was telling that Maresca would eventually use Pedro Neto and Tyrique George there instead of Nkunku.
A terrible second half of the season saw Nkunku finish with 14 goals - meaning he has struck just twice between December 8 and the present date. Now, the Blues are looking to cash in on Nkunku after two years at Stamford Bridge. There are no shortage of admirers for the Frenchman but Chelsea will only sell on their terms.
Chelsea have already brought Liam Delap to the club and with interest in adding another striker, namely Hugo Ekitike, Nkunku would fall further down the pecking order in the No.9 position. Cole Palmer is the go-to man for the No.10 role and with Andrey Santos, who can play anywhere across the midfield, arriving this summer, Nkunku finds himself even further down in that regard also.
There is concrete interest in Ekitike, though Eintracht Frankfurt are demanding €100million (£85million) for the 22-year-old this summer. If Frankfurt are unwilling to budge on their demands and meet Chelsea in the middle, then the west London club are likely to walk away from negotiations, football.london understands.
There has been talk of Bayern Munich rekindling their interest in Nkunku, but at the moment, his focus is on the upcoming FIFA Club World Cup with Chelsea. Nkunku is part of the 28-man squad that is set to fly to the United States on Friday as the Blues prepare for their opener against Los Angeles FC on Monday.
Given what we have seen in recent months, perhaps do not expect to see too much of Nkunku. There is, however, the chance for Chelsea to essentially place the French forward in the shop window and try to get a few million pounds added to any transfer fee this summer.
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