Christopher Nkunku claims he loves the fact that Mauricio Pochettino played him as a lone striker during his Chelsea debut.
Chelsea beat Wrexham 5-0 in the early hours of Thursday morning to begin their pre-season tour of the United States, which they are enjoying under new management.
Blues head coach Mauricio Pochettino, 51, took a good look at most of the squad earlier today. There’s still another four warm-up fixtures to play before the Premier League opener against Liverpool, though.
Signed for £52million from RB Leipzig (Sky Sports), Christopher Nkunku made his first appearance in Chelsea colours against Wrexham.
The 25-year-old attacker quickly announced himself to the club’s supporters by scoring a well-taken goal, dribbling expertly around the goalkeeper before finishing calmly.
He was among the half-time substitutes that only got the second half to impress on the pitch, so our guess is there could be more game time in store this weekend against Brighton.
The biggest discussion around Nkunku prior to his arrival has been regarding his best position.
Many feel like the French speedster is best used in a No 10 role. He’s versatile enough to play on the wing, too. However, he scored and looked a threat when leading the line this week on his Blues debut.
When asked if he enjoyed playing the striker role against Wrexham, Nkunku told Chelsea’s YouTube channel: “Yes, this is my position. I like to play this position… Very happy.”
It remains to be seen what Pochettino’s preferred line-up will be in the season ahead, but perhaps Nkunku is being earmarked as the main central striker.
His pace, movement and accuracy means Chelsea need to get him in the final third as much as possible. But we feel like he could really excel in a creative No 10 position working off someone like Nicolas Jackson or Armando Broja.