Manchester United have unexpected competition in their pursuit of Christopher Nkunku as Nottingham Forest and Newcastle United are now reportedly interested in the Chelsea forward.
After a lengthy saga, the Red Devils finally confirmed the signing of Bryan Mbeumo, marking their second big purchase of the summer. Manchester United also welcomed Matheus Cunha back in June as part of Ruben Amorim’s quest to rebuild his squad in the aftermath of the club’s nightmare 2024–25 nightmare season.
Still, the English outfit are in the market for more attacking reinforcements given the recent departure of Marcus Rashford and the uncertain futures of Jadon Sancho and Alejandro Garnacho.
Nkunku, linked with an exit from Chelsea, emerged as a target for Manchester United. According to The Telegraph, the Frenchman is now also being pursued by Nottingham Forest and Newcastle United, along with Bayern Munich.
The news comes just days after Chelsea reportedly slashed their asking price for Nkunku down from £65 million ($87.6 million) to £43.3 million ($58.3 million). The Blues would be taking a loss on the former RB Leipzig forward, who joined the club for £52 million ($70.1 million) ahead of the 2023–24 season.
The arrivals of João Pedro, Liam Delap, Jamie Gittens and Estêvão, along with Chelsea’s continued interest in RB Leipzig star Xavi Simons, opened the door for Nkunku’s seemingly inevitable move out of London.
ANALYSIS
Much of Nkunku's debut campaign was marred by injury and then he failed to break into Enzo Maresca’s XI last season, starting just nine league games while Nicolas Jackson was a near-permanent fixture up top.
Nkunku’s ability to play as an attacking midfielder, a winger or a striker would give Amorim a versatile player capable of slotting into his new-look attack. After failed pursuits of Delap, Hugo Ekitiké and Viktor Gyökeres, who is expected to sign with Arsenal, Manchester United might be swayed to sign the 27-year-old.
Rasmus Højlund and Joshua Zirkzee struggled to find the back of the net all of last season. Nkunku, who started 14 less Premier League matches than Højlund in 2024–25, walked away with more goal contributions (5) than the Danish striker (4).
Manchester United will have to beat out both Nottingham Forest and Newcastle, though, if they want to get a deal done for Nkunku in the next six weeks.
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This article was originally published on www.si.com as Man Utd ‘Joined’ by Two Premier League Rivals in Race for Christopher Nkunku.
