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.
Christopher Nkunku’s strengths
Nkunku is most notable for his versatility. The 25-year-old is versatile enough to operate out wide on either flank or in support of the striker along the frontline. He even made an appearance as a wing-back under Julian Nagelsmann.
As a top-tier attacker, Nkunku should be used as something other than a fullback or wingback. ‘CN’ is most helpful to a team when he is near the net, so his output skyrocketed when Leipzig switched him from an attacking midfielder to a center-forward.
"“I think attacking midfield is a position that suits me well, close to the goal behind a striker. That describes me as a player nicely so I always like playing in this role.” – Christopher Nkunku"
Nkunku’s dead-ball skills and dribbling prowess are two of his best qualities. He won three penalties last season and scored four direct free-kick goals in the Bundesliga. He also has a respectable penalty conversion rate of eight out of ten. He is equally at ease shooting with either foot, is a proficient finisher, and is a valuable creator, averaging 1.6 key passes per game in the Bundesliga last year.
Only Bournemouth, Southampton, Everton, and Wolverhampton Wanderers scored fewer league goals than Chelsea’s 38 last season, making it the club’s biggest goal-scoring challenge. It doesn’t help that the Blues, more than any other club besides the Toffees, underperformed their expected goals (xG) in the Premier League by 10.7.
Nkunku is capable of scoring more goals than any striker other than Erling Haaland in the Premier League. Be aware that, one: Haaland also played in the Bundesliga. And two: Nkunku has demonstrated his ability to consistently score and create opportunities for himself in the Champions League before anyone brings up the Bundesliga tax.
Nkunku’s use by new manager Mauricio Pochettino still needs to be discovered. Still, given that he has outperformed his xG in each of the previous two campaigns, his arrival should help his team create more and become more proficient in front of goal.
How will Christopher Nkunku fit into the Chelsea starting XI?
CN is best deployed as a second striker, feeding off from the No.9. He can also hold his own as the lone striker, but we need to see the best from the 25-year-old; we must not forget he is also a provider and will not be our only goal outlet. Chelsea would need to sign a top striker like Victor Osimhen or Dusan Vlahovic.
The versatility which aallows Nkunku o play several positions will give his new manager many tactical options. He could play wide, in the middle behind a number nine (which seems most likely), or lead the line by himself. The Blues are confident in his ability to fill that role once he joins the team.
His best position is just behind the striker in a 4-2-3-1, or a 4-2-2-2 formation that the Frenchman is used to during his time in Germany. Former Chelsea gaffer, Thomas Tuchel, had the blues playing in this system for a short spell that saw mixed results, but it’s one we’ll see the best out of CK.
While Romelu Lukaku, who cost the Blues £97.5 million, will return from his season-long loan stint at Inter Milan, the club must decide on his future. Pochettino has stated that he’s willing to work with the Belgian, and talks over his position will resume soon as Inter fell to the hands of Manchester City, giving City their first UCL title. Lukaku made the headlines for his horror cameo showing, costing his side big time.
I don’t see Lukaku as our No.9 going forward, as he’s not keen to return to the English capital. Serie A forwards Victor Osimhen of Napoli and Dusan Vlahovic of Juventus are names floating about and are my candidates to replace RL9. Nkunku’s playmaking skills benefiting the new No.9 and the Frenchman’s ability to score very often is something Chelsea fans can be optimistic about after a disgraceful 2022-23 season.