After a string of matches where he played the full 90 minutes, Chelsea forward Christopher Nkunku was left out of the squad for Sunday’s Premier League match against Fulham. He wasn’t just left out of the starting eleven but was omitted completely from the matchday squad which is usually reserved for players dealing with injury.
Earlier this year Reece James was left out of the squad without an injury but that was for rest purposes more than anything else. When asked about the omission of Nkunku, Enzo Maresca offered a simple explanation and said that it was “just a technical decision”.
The French forward has been getting a lot of playing time in recent months largely due to a lack of other options in attack. With Nicolas Jackson, Marc Guiu, and Noni Madueke all being injured around the same time the cupboard at Chelsea was bare and Maresca had no choice but to play Nkunku.
We hoped that the run of matches would propel Nkunku to greater heights but instead he has sunk to lower depths and the opinion of him among the fans is at an all-time low. He was off to a good start this season with dominant performances in the Conference League where he racked up 7 goals and 3 assists in European competition.
However, he was unhappy with not getting minutes in the Premier League and pushed for a move in December with links to Bayern Munich and Manchester United being floated. Chelsea preferred a permanent move while those clubs just wanted a loan move for the time being and Nkunku was forced to stay put at Stamford Bridge.
Rather than using this as motivation to earn a move in the summer, it appears that Nkunku has taken the other path by not giving his best effort in matches when he is selected. We obviously can’t read his mind, but we can see his body language and effort when on the pitch and it was clear that he was lacking both departments.
Now that we are in the stretch run of the season and other attacking options are healthy, we believe Nkunku should not see the field again for Chelsea. Unless it is in a cameo appearance to prevent someone from getting a second yellow or some other extenuating circumstances, Nkunku should be left off the matchday squads.
His effort has not been up to snuff and the worst thing that could happen for the club is if Nkunku gets injured and is unable to make a move this summer. The Blues will almost certainly be taking a loss on his transfer out of the club, but it is better than carrying his dead weight in a matchday squad.
We can excuse a player who keeps getting injured or a player who is simply in a slump, but a player sulking and not giving full effort is unforgivable. Enzo Maresca needs to take a stand and keep Nkunku out of his squads unless he renews his commitment to his teammates and his club and goes back to playing with the effort required in topflight football.