Chelsea star ‘closing in on return’ tipped to replace in-form £32m forward – ‘he’ll be a starter’
Christopher Nkunku has been backed to make a “fairly immediate impact” for Chelsea and he’ll quickly “be a starter” under Mauricio Pochettino.
The Blues – who top the 2023 Premier League net spend table – took their spending under Todd Boehly to over £1bn during the recent summer transfer window and they invested around £52m to sign Nkunku from Bundesliga outfit RB Leipzig.
The 26-year-old was one of the standout players in the Bundesliga last term as he grabbed 23 goals and nine assists in his 36 appearances across all competitions.
Chelsea struggled in front of goal last season and it was hoped that Nkunku’s arrival could have helped to remedy this issue, but he has missed the start of this campaign as a result of a knee injury.
In Nkunku’s absence, summer signing Nicolas Jackson has started most of Chelsea’s games. The former Villarreal star struggled during the early weeks of this season but he has four goals in their last two matches against Tottenham and Manchester City.
Nkunku is more versatile than Jackson as he is capable of playing across the whole forward line but French football expert Jonathan Johnson reckons he will “make up for lost time” and make a “fairly immediate impact”.
“There has been some welcome good news for Christopher Nkunku – one of France’s most exciting talents who has been prevented from getting started at Chelsea so far due to injury, though he’s now closing in on a return to the team,” Johnson told Caught Offside.
TRANSFER GOSSIP: Chelsea to sell to Spurs as Liverpool and Arsenal eye Brighton boy
“Regardless of Chelsea’s upturn in form lately, Nkunku will be a starter for Mauricio Pochettino once he is fully fit. It might take some time for the France international to get back to his best, but he will be keen to make up for lost time and has his spot with Les Bleus to fight for as well.
“I suspect that he will have a fairly immediate impact in front of goal as Chelsea seek to make a push for a European qualification spot over the second half the season. The Blues need to be wary of recurring injury issues with their summer signing, but he undoubtedly has the quality to improve this team once he finally returns to action.
“Of course, we’ve seen real improvement from Nicolas Jackson of late, so that might have led some to question if Nkunku would get straight back into the team, but it’s important to remember how eager Chelsea were to get this deal done, and wrapped up early last year, so I’m confident he remains a key part of Pochettino’s project.”
