Bayern Munich have been handed a hammer blow in their pursuit of Chelsea outcast Christopher Nkunku. The German side are long-term admirers of the versatile forward, but their move for the Frenchman is reportedly at risk of collapsing.
Nkunku has struggled to prove his worth since joining the Blues, with injuries and a poor run of form seeing him slip down the pecking order under Enzo Maresca. Now, with Joao Pedro and Liam Delap arriving in recent months, the ex-RB Leipzig star looks destined to depart.
Bayern have been at the front of the queue to sign Nkunku after it became clear that he did not have a future at Stamford Bridge, but the Bundesliga giants have very specific plans in place to sign the 27-year-old which has put the deal in jeopardy.
According to BILD, Nkunku’s move to the Allianz Arena is ‘threatening to collapse’ after a fresh round of talks took place between his agent, Pini Zahavi, and the higher powers at Chelsea. The two parties met ahead of the Blues’ 0-0 draw with Crystal Palace on Sunday.
Bayern have already made it clear that they would only be keen to sign Nkunku on a loan basis initially, but Zahavi was informed during those talks that this type of offer would not be entertained.
Instead, Chelsea want to sell the 27-year-old as soon as possible. Despite there being only two weeks left of the summer transfer window, the Blues are not willing to change their stance on the matter and even spoke of retaining the services of Nkunku for another year before selling him then.
Zahavi has since reported the outcome of the meeting back to Bayern, and it remains to be seen how Vincent Kompany’s side reacts to the matter. The Bavarian giants are hoping to sign at least one striker before the summer transfer window closes to support first choice No. 9 Harry Kane.
Nick Woltemade was identified as the club’s favoured option for the role, but talks with VfB Stuttgart recently collapsed after Bayern gave up in looking to strike a deal with their league rivals – who were adamant throughout the saga that the 23-year-old was not for sale, despite how he had agreed on terms with Bayern.