Chelsea forward Christopher Nkunku has not made the kind of impact that has been expected of him.
However, that has largely been because of injury, with Christopher Nkunku not actually making his Chelsea debut until December.
He is fit now, but a report from the Evening Standard claims that those inside Cobham believe that the 26-year-old needs time to get back to his best again after all of his fitness issues.
Time is not something Mauricio Pochettino looks to have plenty of, though, following Chelsea’s loss to Liverpool in the Carabao Cup final.
According to the Daily Mail, the Blues are already looking at potential replacements for the Argentine and have a long-standing interest in Sporting Lisbon’s Ruben Amorim.
Christopher Nkunku needs time
After all of his injury problems, Nkunku is obviously not playing at his best right now.
Pochettino has been using him from off the bench lately as well, usually starting with an attack of Cole Palmer, Raheem Sterling and Nicolas Jackson.
Ultimately, then, it may be a while before Chelsea fans get to see Nkunku at the top of his game.
Another problem with the Frenchman is that Pochettino does not appear to have found a specific role for him. When Nkunku has played, it has often been on the left or up top, while his best position is probably just off the centre-forward. That is another thing that could end up holding him back.
However, Nkunku has too much quality not to come good at Chelsea. He was phenomenal for RB Leipzig, even scoring 35 goals in one season.
Pochettino, or whoever is in the Stamford Bridge dugout next term, just needs the France international to stay fit and settle in one position in the team.
If that happens, Chelsea supporters should hopefully see the Nkunku who defenders in Germany could not live with.
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