Chelsea have been handed a huge blow in the race to sign RB Leipzig star Christopher Nkunku as Liverpool look to hijack a deal. The 24-year-old was heavily linked with a move to Stamford Bridge in the summer, but a move failed to materialise.
football.london understand that the Blues, who hold a long-term interest in Nkunku, were considering whether to make a move for the forward but they were put off by the German giants' €100million (£87.6m) valuation. Late into the window, the France international signed a new contract to extend his stay at the Red Bull Arena, which cast doubt as to whether a switch would be on the cards.
But, it's understood that a €60million (£52.6m) release clause - which becomes active in the summer - was inserted into his contract, meaning Nkunku could leave for considerably less than first thought. With a transfer race wide open, reports suggest that Liverpool a preparing to hijack Chelsea's long-standing interest in the Frenchman.
According to The Sun, Jurgen Klopp's side sent scouts to watch Nkunku earlier this week when Celtic hosted Leipzig in the Champions League. The report states that Liverpool are aware that they may have ‘missed the boat’, but they are hoping that a move to Chelsea falls through.
Speaking to the press ahead of the German side's Champions League clash with the Scottish giants, Nkunku's teammate, Andre Silva, was asked how the Frenchman has handled speculation regarding his future. He replied: "Chris is not a team-mate who talks so much.
"I think he puts all the work on the pitch during games or in training and he is able to do things that come naturally and make it look easy. Chris is doing good and we hope he continues doing that."
A week prior to that, Leipzig boss Marco Rose and teammate Dominik Szoboszlai dismissed reports that Nkunku will leave. The former said: "We don’t comment on speculation, we don’t care about it."
Szoboszlai doubled down. He said: "I have the same answer as the coach. We don’t talk much about speculation. He knows that he is one of our players and that he has to do the best for us. We know that he does everything for the team will continue to do so."
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