Chelsea now appear to have completed the signing of Christopher Nkunku from RB Leipzig, with the France international expected to join in time for the 2023/24 season.
The Blues have been long-term admirers of the 25-year-old as football.london reported back in May for the first time. Now, almost seven months after, Chelsea look to have got their man with a deal all agreed with Leipzig.
The club tried signing Nkunku over the summer transfer window but he ended up signing a contract extension with Leipzig. However, that didn't put Chelsea off and their persistence has now paid dividends.
READ MORE: Christopher Nkunku to Chelsea transfer 'confirmed' as forward signs deal before January
Chelsea's recent history with signing attackers has not been too impressive. In the squad right now, there are a host of attacking players still looking to prove themselves at Stamford Bridge.
Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang joined in the summer from Barcelona but is yet to show the Chelsea faithful his full capabilities just yet. The 33-year-old striker has shown glimpses of his deadliness in front of goal, but has only struck three times this season.
The likes of Kai Havertz, Hakim Ziyech, Christian Pulisic and Raheem Sterling are all looking to prove themselves at Chelsea, too, after big-money moves over the past few years. Graham Potter, who is just three months into his time at Chelsea, will be looking to solve the issues in front of goal and will be hoping the addition of Nkunku in the summer is a step in the right direction in that regard.
Nkunku, though, has been sent a warning regarding his move to Chelsea. Former Liverpool and England attacker John Barnes has said it's tough for young players to move to a club like Chelsea and excel, and has told the club to show more patience with the Frenchman.
"He is young but still quite experienced," Barnes said when speaking to BonusCodeBets. "He is very quick and has been very good for Leipzig for a long period of time.
"But it's tough for younger players to come into a club like Chelsea as they are quite unstable in terms of changing their managers."
Barnes added: "He has a great potential but Chelsea haven't been that great the last six months and I would hate to see a young talented player go to a club that is not structured at the moment. If he goes to Chelsea, they should have patience with him and I don't think they have that with young players."
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