Journalist shares what he has just heard about Christopher Nkunku’s fitness ahead of the new season

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Chelsea are desperate to have Christopher Nkunku fit and firing this season after the forward missed the majority of the previous campaign.

Much was expected of Christopher Nkunku following his arrival from RB Leipzig. There, he proved to be a really good goalscorer, netting 58 times in his final two seasons combined in Germany.

However, injuries prevented the 26-year-old from showing that level of proficiency at Chelsea last term.

He is fit again, though, and Nkunku could now be about to explode at Chelsea after a very strong pre-season.

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Chelsea have been managing Christopher Nkunku’s fitness

While Nkunku did pick up a couple of serious injury problems in the last campaign, he was fit towards the end of it.

However, the Frenchman was used sparingly because Chelsea did not want to take any unnecessary risks and wanted him to be ready for this season, according to journalist Darren Lewis.

Speaking about Nkunku on talkSPORT (12/08/2024 at 21:12), Lewis said: “From what I gather, he was actually fit at the back-end of last season, but they didn’t want to throw him in for the sake of it.

“They wanted to keep him ticking over, get a good pre-season under his belt, and then have him ready for this season.”

He played in all of Chelsea’s pre-season fixtures, with Enzo Maresca being impressed with Nkunku’s display versus Real Madrid.

Will Christopher Nkunku start for Chelsea?

Chelsea have a lot of attacking players and could add more to their ranks amid interest in Napoli’s Victor Osimhen and Atletico Madrid’s Joao Felix.

Maresca has approved a move for Osimhen, so there is a possibility of the Nigerian arriving at Stamford Bridge before the transfer window closes.

Whatever the case, you would expect Nkunku to be a starter for Chelsea this season now that he is fit again. As touched on earlier, he is a goalscorer and finished the Blues’ pre-season as their top scorer alongside Noni Madueke. Maresca has to find room for him in the team.

Nkunku can play behind the striker, as the centre-forward or on the left, so the Italian should be able to do the above. It is just a matter of whether the France international can stay fit.