Leipzig chief now confirms Boehly deal for £53m France attacker – ‘He’s moving to Chelsea’

Jason Soutar
Leipzig attacker Christopher Nkunku during a match

Chelsea will sign France international Christopher Nkunku in the summer transfer window, RB Leipzig director Max Eberl has confirmed.

In case you were unaware, Chelsea have struck a deal to sign Nkunku.

Fabrizio Romano has kept us all up to date with the deal, revealing in September that the player had already had a medical.

The Frenchman will be available for a modest €60million (£53m) in the summer when a release clause in his new contract becomes active.

It is no surprise to see the Blues swoop in for Nkunku early doors given his incredible scoring record for Leipzig.

Last season, the 25-year-old bagged 35 goals in 52 matches across all competitions.

And this term he has 17 goals in 23 matches, including 12 in 15 Bundesliga encounters.

There has not been any competition for Nkunku’s signature despite previous interest from Manchester United, though that appears to have stemmed from Ralf Rangnick, who is no longer at the club.

And via Romano himself, Leipzig sporting director Eberl has confirmed that Nkunku will join Chelsea at the end of the season.

Eberl said: “With Christopher Nkunku, unfortunately, things are quite clear with Chelsea FC.”

He also discussed the futures of Konrad Laimer – who is expected to join Bayern Munich on a free transfer this summer – and Dani Olmo.

“I’ll fight for both of them until it’s really decided. But as long as there’s a one percent chance, I’ll do anything to keep the two guys,” Eberl said.

Romano once again reiterated that Nkunku will be a Chelsea player next season.

He wrote on Twitter on Monday morning: “Can confirm again that Nkunku deal is 100% signed.

“He’s Chelsea player as revealed in December, no doubts – will join in July.”

Chelsea have an alarming amount of attacking options already at the club with Callum Hudson-Odoi and Romelu Lukaku out on loan at Bayer Leverkusen and Inter Milan, respectively.

The Blues confirmed the £88m signing of Mykhaylo Mudryk on Sunday afternoon, during their Premier League match against London rivals Crystal Palace.

Mudyrk joins fellow winter signing Joao Felix, who will spend the remainder of the campaign at Stamford Bridge before returning to Atletico Madrid.

On top of the mind-boggling Mudryk fee, Graham Potter’s side will cover Felix’s extortionate wages and have given Atletico a hefty £11m loan fee, all for six months.

Chelsea are currently 10th in the top flight and look extremely unlikely to finish inside the top four.

This is despite the amount of money they have spent since Todd Boehly bought the club last summer.

Boehly has forked out over £460m in a six-month span, meaning they have spent only £32m less than Liverpool have in the last ten transfer windows.

Unfortunately for Boehly and Potter, the new recruits have all struggled to hit the ground running at Stamford Bridge.

Marc Cucurella was signed for around £60m and has been rubbish after being Brighton’s best player in 2021-22.

Meanwhile, Raheem Sterling joined with high expectations after winning multiple trophies with Manchester City, but has struggled and is now reportedly up for sale.

READ MORE: Lukaku flops as Kante and Thiago Silva soar in ranking of Chelsea’s last 50 signings

Chelsea Christopher Nkunku

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