Wesley Fofana is on France duty this week, and took the chance to speak to the French media about one of his club and country teammates who is finally fit and firing after a tricky 18 months.
Christopher Nkunku spent most of last season injured or unfit, but now we’re seeing the best of him. He scored against Israel on Thursday, and is in line to play again tomorrow night against Belgium.
“I rarely have someone who finishes so well in front of goal,” Fofana said of his teammate when asked by Telefoot. And Fofana has played with a decent set of players in his career. Nkunku really is a next level finisher, as we’ve seen already this season, capable of squeezing the ball in no matter how little time he has to set his feet.
Maresca left with a good headache over getting attacking talent into his team
It’s maybe the biggest remaining question mark in Enzo Maresca’s team, and the one thing that will have been keeping him up at night during this international break. How on earth does he fit Nkunku into his first team? Cole Palmer has to play, Nicolas Jackson is the only true number 9 we’ve got and adds a lot to the team. Noni Madueke is in great form and adds direct speed and dribbling down the right, while Jadon Sancho is a more technical and considered option on the left.
So far, that’s left no room for Nkunku. But that position just feels untenable long term, especially with the Frenchman playing well and scoring for Chelsea’s B team as well as France.
Eventually, Maresca is going to have to try something new to get a star player like that into the team. There’s just no avoiding it. We’re just curious how he intends to do it…