Christopher Nkunku is certainly one of the big talking points ahead of tomorrow’s game between Newcastle United and Chelsea.
Chelsea makes the trip up to Newcastle United this weekend as Premier League football returns after the international break.
Christopher Nkunku, 26, is yet to make his competitive debut for Chelsea after spending the opening months of the season sidelined through injury. Blues fans have seen him working in training over the international break via footage released by the club.
Journalist Simon Phillips reported via his Substack this week that Nkunku will be available for selection versus Newcastle.
Our preference is for Blues head coach Mauricio Pochettino to be cautious with the attacker’s return, though.
Chris Sutton verdict
BBC pundit Sutton has mentioned Nkunku ahead of the weekend and predicted him to take a spot on the bench at St James’ Park.
In his regular Premier League predictions segment, he’s tipped Newcastle and Chelsea to draw tomorrow afternoon.
Sutton told BBC Sport: “Newcastle looked really jaded in their defeat by Bournemouth before the international break. They have got some injured players back in contention, including Alexander Isak, but the question is how fit are they, and how much has changed in two weeks?
“It’s a similar story with Chelsea, who could hand Christopher Nkunku his debut but, if that happens, it will probably be off the bench. They are improving, yes, but they are still so erratic, which makes this game almost impossible to call.
“There are signs they have turned a corner and they were so impressive at times against Manchester City but you can’t rely on them to play well again here.
“To be honest, I feel like giving up when it comes to making predictions about Chelsea games anyway – I get their scores wrong every week, so I am ready to be proved wrong again here.
“Sutton’s prediction: 1-1.”
Christopher Nkunku caution
Surely, Pochettino will be wary with a player that’s yet to kick a ball this season.
We’ve seen in recent weeks Reece James eased back into the starting line-up. In fact, he’s still yet to complete a 90 minutes.
It should be a similar approach in the upcoming games with Nkunku.
The French forward is the talk of the fanbase because of what he may bring to the XI, with his immense quality in forward positions.
He scored 70 goals and made 56 assists in 172 RB Leipzig appearances, so hopefully he can hit the ground running in Chelsea colours.
Receive a digest of our best Chelsea content each week direct to your mailbox
