Chelsea appear to have won the race to sign long-term transfer target Christopher Nkunku from RB Leipzig.
The 24-year-old has signed a pre-contract agreement with the Blues ahead of a proposed move for the 2023/24 season, football.london understands. As reported earlier on in the year, Chelsea hold a long-term interest in Nkunku and have been keen to sign the 2021/22 Bundesliga Player of the Season for a while.
The west London club sent scouts to watch the RB Leipzig attacker over the past couple of seasons and have been mightily impressed with what they have witnessed. Last season, the eight-time France international scored an astonishing 31 goals and also registered 20 assists in 48 appearances for the German club in all competitions.
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The interest started when Roman Abramovich was the owner of Chelsea, but it has carried on with Todd Boehly's consortium and Clearlake Capital taking charge of the club. The transfer window closed over a month ago, but Boehly is once again showing his restlessness when it comes to his long-term project at Stamford Bridge.
Moving early for Nkunku and paying more than his £53million release clause that becomes active next summer shows Chelsea mean business. Some Chelsea supporters have reservations about signing players from the Bundesliga after what happened with Timo Werner, but Nkunku is one of the highest-rated attacking talents in European football at the moment and if the Blues left him to another club, then there could be big regrets.
Nkunku is keen on a move to Stamford Bridge and has been impressed by how Chelsea have approached the situation. The Frenchman only signed a new contract at the Red Bull Arena in the summer, but that looks like it was to protect his value more than anything else.
It looks as if Chelsea are already close to securing their first signing of the Graham Potter era at Stamford Bridge. A lot of that is down to the tireless work behind the scenes from Boehly and co.
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