Is Christopher Nkunku The Answer To Chelsea's Striker Dilemma?

It’s no secret that Chelsea have struggled to find a solid striker since Diego Costa was ousted by then boss Antonio Conte in 2017. The Spanish international scored 52 times in 89 Premier League games for the Blues, helping them win two Premier League titles in his three years at Stamford Bridge and that kind of firepower hasn’t been replaced in the last five years. 

It's not for the want of trying. The likes of Timo Werner, Álvaro Morata and Romelu Lukaku have been tried and tested, but they all failed to make much of an impact and the former has returned to his previous club RB Leipzig on a permanent deal while Lukaku was shipped back to Inter Milan on a season-long loan after a torrid campaign last year. 

That left Chelsea in desperate need of a striker this summer and with the window edging ever-closer to slamming shut, eyebrows were raised when now former Blues boss Thomas Tuchel made a late move to bring in ex-Arsenal captain Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang — who he knows well from his time at Borussia Dortmund — from money-strapped Barcelona.

There’s no doubt that Aubameyang is nothing more than a short-term fix at 33 years of age, perhaps one to make the side more favorable in the football odds here and now. In fact, Chelsea might have already found his replacement, with reports from credible sources claiming the west London side have already put pen to paper on a pre-contract agreement with Christopher Nkunku of Leipzig. 

It's believed Chelsea are prepared to overpay on the French international’s £52.7m release clause, fending off a whole host of rivals — including Liverpool and Manchester United — to secure the services of the exciting 24-year-old forward from next summer.

Nkunku bagged a cool 35 goals and registered 20 assists in 52 outings for the German side last season and has carried that fine form into this campaign, scoring six goals in eight Bundesliga games at the time of writing. However, Chelsea fans might be holding back on premature celebrations surrounding his signing with Werner’s time at Stamford Bridge still at the fore of their memory. 

Werner arrived in west London from Leipzig with a lot of expectation, but failed to live up to his potential as he managed just 10 goals in 56 Premier League matches and he was shipped back to the Red Bull Arena after just two seasons in Blue. With Chelsea’s track record of strikers underperforming on top of that, there might be a lingering fear that Nkunku will be the next to flop. 

The stats prove that there is no need to worry about Nkunku being the next Werner though. The Frenchman is a far better finisher than his new teammate, who albeit is starting to find the back of the net a bit more now he is back in Germany with three goals in seven games for Leipzig, while he is also much better on the ball than the 26-year-old. 

That composure on the ball is reflected in his cool finishing, which he tends to do well with both feet. But his knack for running in behind the defence to create chances instead of playing the ball into his feet is something of a concern. Kai Havertz and Werner were famed for the same thing in the Bundesliga, but have struggled in the Premier League as defences are more tactically astute. 

Yes, Nkunku is showing promise at Leipzig. But it’s arguably too soon to say he is going to make Chelsea regular choices in the free football betting tips next season. Chelsea and Potter need to find a way to make the transition from Germany to England work for Nkunku or we could be about to see another talent fade into the shadows at the Bridge.