RB Leipzig and France international star star Christopher Nkunku is expected to join the Blues during the summer transfer window.
Chelsea Online News:
RB Leipzig and France international star Christopher Nkunku after suffering a major knee injury on the eve of France’s World Cup campaign, has resumed full first-team training.
Just a few days before the tournament began in November, the forward experienced the problem in training. With the German team’s Champions League last-16 matchup approaching, he now appears to be fully recovered and fit.
According to a source, Nkunku will be in west London before the 2023–24 season thanks to an agreement already in place to bring him from Leipzig.
Despite not being officially confirmed, Leipzig’s sporting director recently made the claim that the Blues and Leipzig had reached a pre-contract agreement worth more than £50 million. “The signs are very, very clear that he’s moving to Chelsea”.
Graham Potter and Todd Boehly were probably hoping to see Nkunku in action on the international stage, but his injury wasted that possibility.
But with two Bundesliga games left for Leipzig to play before they take on English champions Manchester City on February 22, Nkunku appears to be close to rejoining the matchday squad.
READ | Chelsea FC handed fresh boost as injury crisis eases before West Ham United clash
READ | Chelsea FC, Arsenal, and Man Utd handed record West Ham and England midfielder Declan Rice transfer price amid £100m bid, as per source
READ | Study Sport in UK: UEA SPORT AND FOOTBALL INDIVIDUAL SCHOLARSHIP
At the end of January, Leipzig gave a significant Nkunku injury update, showing that the striker had resumed solo training on the grass.
A little more than a week later, the team then published another update in which Nkunku is seen leaving the locker room and entering the training area with his teammates. “Finally back,” the Frenchman remarked as soon as he saw the camera.
Josko Gvardiol, a teammate of Nkunku, is probably still of interest to Chelsea even after they signed Benoit Badiashile in January, and both may now speak with Timo Werner, who left Leipzig for Chelsea in 2020 but returned two years later to share his experiences of his time at Stamford Bridge.
The German international has publicly expressed his opinion over his time in west London, but he has declined to provide Nkunku any precise guidance regarding how he will find his own experience there. The former Chelsea striker was quoted as saying by German outlet SportBILD:
“Everyone has to have their own experience. I had a very good first year, the second was so-so. I can tell him from positive and negative experiences, should he change.
“At a club like that, you don’t play like you did at RB Leipzig, because there’s even more competition – not only on a sporting level, but also on another level, in the mental area.
“You have to cope with that, and everyone has to find their own way. “That’s why it’s the wrong approach to give others tips. Time has changed me a lot.”
Werner mentioned that there was more competition for spots after he left, and that competition has only gotten tougher because Nkunku’s preferred position makes it difficult for him to get playing time.
Mykhailo Mudryk, Noni Madueke, Joao Felix, and David Datro Fofana, all recent additions, are currently competing for spots with Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang, Raheem Sterling, Kai Havertz, Christian Pulisic, and Hakim Ziyech.
READ NEXT >>>
• Top 10 Highest-Paid Soccer Players 2022: Mbappe tops Ronaldo, Messi, and Sterling in rankings
