RB Leipzig keen on signing £52m Chelsea player as Blues close in on Xavi Simons deal

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Chelsea may have the perfect first team player they would be prepared to part ways with in order to help them get a deal to sign Xavi Simons over the line.

Fabrizio Romano believes it is likely Simons joins Chelsea this summer, with Enzo Maresca clearly wanting more options in attack despite plenty of signings already.

The likes of Joao Pedro and Jamie Gittens are waiting in the wings to make their Premier League debuts for the club, however they are now holding out for player sales before adding more names to their first team.

However, they are set to receive a significant financial injection from the upcoming sale of Joao Felix to Al Nassr after it has become clear he is not in the plans at Stamford Bridge.

RB Leipzig keen on Christopher Nkunku as Chelsea close in on signing Xavi Simons

Another attacker the Blues are keen on moving on from is Christopher Nkunku. The Frenchman failed to take his chance during a time where both Nicolas Jackson and Marc Guiu were injured.

It was reported that some staff at Chelsea were won over by Nkunku during the Club World Cup, where he played a key role in them winning the competition.

Transfer insider Graeme Bailey has exclusively told The Chelsea Chronicle that RB Leipzig remain keen on signing the forward, as the two clubs discuss the final details of the Simons deal.

He said: “Nkunku has interest from a host of clubs and Chelsea are expecting him to go this summer. Much will depend on what the asking price is.

“Chelsea ideally want to sell but most of the interest is a loan – even with Luis Diaz going to Bayern Munich, they remain keen as do his former club RB Leipzig, and those two clubs are already talking about Xavi Simons. There is interest in Spain and Germany too, as well as England.”

Xavi Simons vs Christopher Nkunku 24/25 stats

Nkunku enjoyed two consecutive brilliant seasons with Leipzig before his Stamford Bridge move. He combined for 87 goals and assists in those two years despite injury problems.

Last season though, while Nkunku slightly edges things in terms of total numbers in comparison to Simons, these came in far more games featured in.

Of Nkunku’s goals, just three came in the Premier League, and his poor injury record has contributed to him not having the impact many expected him to have at Chelsea.

The Blues are looking to receive a large amount of the £52m they paid to sign the France international, however may be forced to lower their valuation if they are to part ways with him this summer.