CHELSEA SIGN FORWARD CHRISTOPHER NKUNKU FOR €60 MILLION
Almost nine months after the reported “secret” medical tests, Chelsea Football Club have finally signed forward Christopher Nkunku from RB Leipzig.
As first reported by European journalist Fabrizio Romano, the deal is a €60 million [£53 million] transfer with the player signing on a six-year deal that keeps him at Chelsea until June 2029. Nkunku’s medical was conducted in London in September and the French international signed a long-term deal only three months later. Nkunku’s contract as a Chelsea player will become valid on July 1st.
In a statement released by the club, Chelsea’s co-sporting directors, Laurence Stewart and Paul Winstanley said, “Christopher has proved himself one of the standout attacking players in European football over the past two seasons and will add quality, creativity and versatility to our squad.”
“He has demonstrated his ability at the highest level with RB Leipzig and France and we look forward to him joining up with his new teammates ahead of the new season.”
Only four years after Leipzig acquired the Lagny-sur-Marne-born player for €13 million, Christopher Nkunku has a new home and a new challenge. A graduate of the famed French national football academy Clairefontaine, which specializes in training French football players, Nkunku has been generating buzz all around Europe since he broke through the ranks at Paris Saint Germain.
One of the most versatile players in football, Nkunku has lined up at all positions in midfield, a fact that can be attributed to his technical prowess and intelligence of play. The once-upon-a-time Fontainebleau football school player, however, found much of his success in Germany playing the striker position. Nkunku finished the 2022/23 season as the top goalscorer in the Bundesliga after finding the net 16 times, tied with Werder Bremen’s Niclas Fullkrug, and registered a total of 23 goals across all competitions.
In a statement released on the club’s website, Nkunku said, “I am incredibly happy to be joining Chelsea. A big effort was made to bring me to the club and I’m looking forward to meeting my new coach and teammates and showing the Chelsea supporters what I can do on the pitch.”
“Having played in Ligue 1 and the Bundesliga, I now want to play in the Premier League, one of the strongest leagues in the world. I am very excited for this challenge and will be proud to wear the Chelsea shirt.”
The 2021/22 Bundesliga Player of the Season has been capped 10 times for the 2018 World Champions France and intends to continue his string of quality performances at club level to earn more caps. Nkunku scored a total of 35 goals in all competitions during the 2021/22 season, an incredible feat that earned him 8 caps for Le Bleus in 2022 with the other two caps coming this year. Although he is still yet to score for the international side, the 2022 Germany Footballer of the Year will likely buck that trend in short order.
Nkunku is a three-time Ligue 1 winner and twice won the Coupe de France, Coupe de la Ligue and Trophee des Champions with Paris Saint-Germain before eventually making the transition to Germany. The 25-year-old was a key piece for Leipzig, most notably over the past two years helping the club secure a fourth-place finish in 2022, a third place in the Bundesliga finish in 2023 and consecutive DFB Pokal wins in both years.
All parties involved in the deal for Nkunku reportedly wanted to keep the transfer secret, especially the medical tests during the fall as Chelsea looked to trigger Leipzig’s asking €60 million release clause in the winter. The London club originally agreed with Leipzig to only announce the transfer after Nkunku’s final games of the season with France on June 19th.
With The Blues now starting anew with manager Mauricio Pochettino, Nkunku will be a welcome asset to the West London club as Chelsea look to shed some of the dead weight within the squad and add quality pieces this summer.
-Maher Abucheri
Twitter: @pabloikonyero
Photo: Steffen Prößdorf. This file is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 4.0 International license.