Chelsea are apparently wasting no time in the transfer market, despite the shop’s shutters officially remaining closed for another two months.
Christopher Nkunku is the most recent item to land in Roman Abramovich’s shopping trolly.
That’s if Foot Mercato’s information is to be believed.
They claim Chelsea, along with Manchester City and Real Madrid, are circling the RB Leipzig forward.
And understandably so, considering the numbers he’s been crunching this campaign.
Nine goals and three assists in 10 matches is quite a return for a player who had never previously scored more than seven in a single season.
Three of those strikes came at the expense of Pep Guardiola’s City, with the other half dozen finding the net through various competitions.
Frenchman at the forefront
Now fully on the radar of Europe’s elite, Nkunku better prepare for intense interest directed in his direction.
Or rather, his agent better prepare for intense interest directed in his client’s direction.
“I was immediately drawn to him, even if he was playing youth football,” said Jose-Karl Pierre-Fanfan on his reasons for representing Nkunku.
“He wasted little and had perfect vision.”
However, Chelsea’s pursuit might not be as heavy compared to Madrid’s or their Premier League title rival’s.
Actually, the Blues chase of Leipzig’s man in form probably won’t happen at all.
This is because Nkunku reportedly has a very poor relationship with the chief of the Stamford Bridge dugout.
Tough love from Tuchel
Thomas Tuchel and the Frenchman worked together for a while whilst the pair were under Paris-Saint Germain’s umbrella.
Unfortunately, this marriage was not a romantic one, despite Paris’ reputation for being the city of love.
According to La Parisien, Nkunku rejected a new contract offer from PSG due to his poor rapport with the former manager.
The 23-year-old had been raised through the club’s ranks, making his debut in 2015 as a teenager.
But in the player’s eyes, he wasn’t given a fair crack at the whip by Tuchel, who had taken over the hot seat in 2018.
Nkunku decided against extending his PSG deal and moved to Germany, a year after Tuchel’s appointment.
Based on this evidence, the likelihood of the Leipzig attacker and Chelsea’s coach rekindling is very, very slim.