There have been whispers about Christopher Nkunku’s unhappiness for some time at Chelsea – it was over a week ago that Manchester United interest was reported.
But we’ve been waiting for a really in depth and well sourced look at his situation – and it looks like we now have one, thanks to the Athletic.
They have a long piece today from Simon Johnson, who has been covering the Blues for years and always has good insight and good sources on what’s going on at the club. Johnson writes that a “source close to the player” has told him that “the forward is not too happy with how things are going right now.”
However, the same source was at pains to point out that Nkunku “has not made any complaints himself.”
He’s not “looking to hand in a transfer request or trying to cause a problem for head coach Enzo Maresca.”
Johnson then runs through the numbers which are at the source of the issue: Nkunku has played 154 minutes in the Premier League all year. 58 of them came on the opening day, showing how short his many sub appearances since then have been.
Nkunku’s situation is clear – there’s plenty of time left
We all know the situation by now – everyone rates Nkunku, we’re just playing a formation where he fits into just one position, and that position is currently taken by Cole Palmer, the club’s undroppable star man.
We still believe that at some point in the season Maresca will make an attempt to get Nkunku into a team with Palmer at the same time, If he makes it stick, everyone’s happy and we move on as though this never happened.
But if this situation persists, we all know it’s untenable for all parties. Johnson concludes by saying a January move is almost impossible, as is a loan or a move to Saudi Arabia. PSG and Manchester United are both named as potentially interested parties here.
So this puzzle has until next summer to be solved, it seems.
