Manchester United have been made to rue their failure to sign Christopher Nkunku from RB Leipzig after the Frenchman was named as the best performer in the Bundesliga this season.
The former Paris Saint-Germain man has been linked with a move to Old Trafford on numerous occasions and the Red Devils are thought to be renewing their efforts to sign him this summer, with interim boss Ralf Rangnick having pushed for his signature during his spell in charge.
However, Nkunku is expected to cost considerably more than first thought with the forward having enjoyed a stunning season at the Red Bull Arena. The 24-year-old has 20 goals and 15 assists to his name in the top flight and has scooped the Bundesliga Player of the Year award.
His form in cup competitions has been equally brilliant and his overall tally sits at a stunning 34 goals and 20 assists in all competitions - by far and away the most productive season of his career.
The Frenchman has even beaten the irrepressible Robert Lewandowski to the divisional award despite the Pole notching another 35 strikes so far this campaign. Nkunku, though, may well have been strutting his stuff at Old Trafford during the second half of the season as Rangnick was reportedly keen to sign him in January.
According to ESPN, the German was left furious with the club’s scouting department after being told that they were not tracking Nkunku despite his exhilarating performances. That failure has certainly come back to bite United, who could have used a player of his ability with the side floundering in the second half of the campaign and missing out on a place in the Champions League next term.
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Since the end of the January transfer window, the Red Devils have won just five games in the league and are in severe threat of dropping into the Europa Conference League. Their only reliable source of goals has been Portuguese superstar Cristiano Ronaldo - a strain that Nkunku would surely have alleviated should United have followed Rangnick’s instructions to sign him.
Nkunku’s contract with Leipzig is set to expire in two years’ time but he insisted earlier this season that he was not thinking about quitting the German club. He said: “If I was thinking of other clubs, we might as well forget our season goals.
“Big goals of our own are only realistic if we achieve something with Leipzig. Otherwise, these questions do not arise. I still have a contract until 2024 and I feel very comfortable at RB Leipzig.”
Alongside his personal award, Nkunku could still round the season off with silverware. Leipzig are set to negotiate the DFB-Pokal final this weekend. They face Bundesliga rivals SC Freiburg at the Olympiastadion with the club having never claimed the German cup in their short history.
