Chelsea will land RB Leipzig star Christopher Nkunku. (Photo by Alex Grimm/Getty Images)
Chelsea hold a keen interest in many players across Europe to plug gaps across several areas in their squad, and one player who sits high on the Blues’ wish-list is RB Leipzig midfielder-turned-striker Christopher Nkunku. However, the current state of football economics means that he won’t come cheap.
That was kind of a given, based on the breakthrough season Nkunku just had. Transitioning from midfield to playing up front, he scored a staggering 35 goals and provided 19 assists in 50 appearances across all competitions.
Such numbers have Europe’s top clubs on high alert, including Chelsea’s arch Premier League rivals Manchester United. Leipzig is wary of the interest in their crown jewel, and have now put a number on Nkunku’s price tag.
£100 million – that’s the amount which Leipzig are reportedly going to expect from any club wanting to sign their prolific goal-scoring machine, according to the Independent (h/t Football London).
The Bundesliga club are determined to keep hold of Nkunku and are believed to be in negotiations with the Frenchman to extend his contract at the Red Bull Arena.
Chelsea’s summer transfer activity hasn’t been eventful so far, but that doesn’t necessarily translate to inactivity behind the scenes. Several of Europe’s top names are being courted by those behind the scenes at SW6, and fans need to be patient.
Nkunku produced record-breaking numbers for Leipzig last season, so it is easy to see why Leipzig have slapped such an enormous price-tag on him. However, Chelsea are still yet to recover from a record-signing made less than a year ago.
Romelu Lukaku’s £97.5 million arrival hasn’t gone to plan, and the striker is pushing for an exit. Given the state of affairs, and Lukaku’s unimpressive record last term, Chelsea can expect to recoup only a fraction of that sum.
Todd Boehly has promised a £200 million injection for transfers this summer, and whilst that is a big sum, it would be unwise to compromise half of that budget on one player.
They have other areas to plug in as well, like their defence which needs at least two incoming players to fill the void left behind by Antonio Rudiger and Andreas Christensen.
A lot depends on Chelsea raising funds through player sales. The club is understood to be listening to offers for Hakim Ziyech, Christian Pulisic and Timo Werner. If any of those names depart, they are likely to fetch Chelsea a decent sum of money.
If Chelsea can fund the majority of Leipzig’s asking sum via player sales, then maybe it makes sense to pay a nine-digit sum. That’s a big if though, so maybe the Blues need to start looking elsewhere soon.
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