Chelsea have all but wrapped up the first signing of the Graham Potter era at the club. Christopher Nkunku has signed a pre-contract agreement with the Blues ahead of a move for the 2023/24 season, as football.london reported back in October.
It's understood that Chelsea told RB Leipzig they were willing to pay more than the £52.4million release clause in his contract to ensure they could jump ahead of other interested clubs in the race to sign him. The Blues could be getting one of European football's most sought-after attacking players should they pull this clever deal off.
Nkunku scored an astonishing 31 goals and also registered 20 assists in 48 appearances for the German club in all competitions last term – and he was deservedly crowned the Bundesliga Player of the Season.
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His stock has only risen since then following an equally impressive start to the current campaign, but unfortunately for the Frenchman, he picked up an injury days before the start of the World Cup that would ultimately rule him out of the international tournament.
At Leipzig, Nkunku has played all over the attacking line, whether that's as a central striker, a No.10, or on either of the wings. That is brilliant for Chelsea and Potter because it means they can add another versatile attacker to their squad, but it perhaps isn't such good news for the player himself.
Quite often in modern day football, there are versatile players, who do such a fine job in numerous positions that they fail to lock down a role for themselves. See Kai Havertz for example at Chelsea. Since joining the Blues in 2020 from Bayer Leverkusen, the Germany international has played as a false nine, a No.10 or on the wing – and now, over two years on from when he signed, nobody could tell you Havertz's best position at Stamford Bridge.
What Nkunku has shown in his time in Germany, however, is his clinical nature in front of goal, something Havertz never showcased even when he was at his best with Leverkusen. In Havertz's final season (2019/20) with the German club, he scored 12 goals and provided six assists in 30 league appearances.
However, Nkunku last season managed to score 20 goals and provide 13 assists in the Bundesliga, with four more appearances to his name than Havertz. Even this season so far, despite only 15 Bundesliga appearances, Nkunku has already matched Havertz's total from the 2019/20 campaign with 12 goals and he has also registered a couple of assists in the German top-flight.
It might still be up for debate where Nkunku will play should he complete a move to Chelsea. One thing is for sure, though; get the Frenchman as close to the opposition goal as possible. It sounds simple, but with numbers like that, the 25-year-old cannot afford to be dropping deep for the ball all of the time.
Chelsea remain confident they can complete the deal to sign the French attacker over the line in time for next season. Let's hope the 'Chelsea curse' doesn't affect Nkunku and he can show his true colours in the Premier League.
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