Following his stylish departure from RB Leipzig, Christopher Nkunku gave Chelsea fans another glimpse of an exciting future.
The French forward signed a contract with the Blues last year that will see him arrive at Stamford Bridge in the coming weeks for a fee of £53 million. He will give the attack, which has struggled to find the back of the net, a much-needed boost after scoring just 38 goals in a poor Premier League season. Although not formally announced by CFC, Nkunku is expected to join this summer.
The 25-year-old tied with Werder Bremen striker Niclas Füllkrug for topping the Bundesliga scoring charts this season with 16 goals, bouncing back from the disappointment of missing the midseason World Cup with France in Qatar due to a knee injury. Despite still sharing the golden boot with the German international, the injury caused the former PSG youngster to miss a significant portion of the season, worrying the West London faithful.
If that sounded like music to your ears, you’re going to love this. In the 2021-2022 season (before his knee injury the following term), Nkunku, who even outperformed prolific goal scorer, Robert Lewandowski, was named the Bundesliga’s Player of the Year after tallying 20 goals and 13 assists. Observers of the division did not choose the more prominent name. They realized the Frenchman carried Leipzig, helping them defeat SC Freiburg in the DFB Pokal Final to win their first trophy.
And earlier this month, in the German Cup final, Nkunku gave another indication of what he could bring to Chelsea and incoming manager Mauricio Pochettino. The former scored his 23rd goal of the season in all competitions. He later assisted Dominik Szoboszlai at Berlin’s Olympiastadion as Leipzig defended the DFB-Pokal trophy with a 2-0 win over Eintracht Frankfurt, leaving the club as a hero.
In 119 Bundesliga appearances, the former PSG forward has contributed to 83 goals overall (47 scored, 36 assisted). Nkunku, who was recently recalled to the senior France squad by head coach Didier Deschamps for upcoming Euro 2024 qualifiers against Gibraltar and Greece, will be expected to provide an immediate improvement to a Chelsea forward unit that floundered en route to their lowest top-flight finish since 1994 despite £600 million lavished on new signings during a woeful first season under the Todd Boehly and Clearlake ownership. Pochettino rejected Joao Felix’s services to resume next season, whether it was another loan or not, to open a significant role for the newly acquired dynamic superstar.