Chelsea open to selling £52m star as Barcelona consider January move

Chelsea are reportedly open to selling £52m signing Christopher Nkunku as Barcelona consider a January move for the forward.

The Premier League club brought highly-rated French star Nkunku to Stamford Bridge in the summer of 2023.

Much was expected of Nkunku, who had scored 58 goals across his final two seasons at RB Leipzig and become a regular for the France national team.

Nkunku was the Bundesliga Player of the Season and German PFA Player of the Year in 2021-22 after scoring 20 goals and providing 15 assists.

Chelsea fans hoping for a similar impact in west London were initially disappointed by injury issues which restricted Nkunku to 14 appearances in all competitions last season.

Nkunku is back fit but still struggling for game-time under Enzo Maresca, starting just two Premier League games.

The 27-year-old has impressed in cup competitions, scoring five goals in five games in the admittedly inferior Europa Conference League and three goals in two Carabao Cup matches.

Struggling for Premier League minutes has led Nkunku to grow frustrated, however, and he is reportedly keen to leave Chelsea, either on loan next month or on a permanent transfer in the summer.

Spanish outlet Sport claim his agent, Pini Zahavi, has approached Barcelona to discuss a possible move the Nou Camp and indicated he would be willing to take a pay-cut in order to move.

Barca signed Poland legend Robert Lewandowski ahead of the 2022-23 season and he has proved to be a huge hit in La Liga, scoring 82 goals in 119 games.

But at 36 Lewandowski is clearly closer to the end of his career than the start and he admitted he was struggling with his confidence after going just three games without a goal.

Reports in Spain say Chelsea are willing to offload Nkunku given the healthy number of options they have in forward positions and are aware of interest from Serie A giants Napoli as well as Barcelona.

Speaking earlier in the season, Maresca admitted Nkunku was one of a number of his players who ‘deserved’ more game-time.

Asked about possible departures ahead of the January transfer window, Maresca said this week: ‘In January, we will decide. There are some players who may not be happy and may want to leave.’

Chelsea have mounted a surprising title challenge in the Premier League this season but dropped points away at Everton at the weekend.

The goalless draw at Goodison Park means Chelsea will sit second in the table, four points behind Liverpool, on Christmas Day.

‘Chelsea will feel how far they have come,’ former Blues striker Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink told BBC Radio 5 Live.

‘To go to Everton having the expectation they will win and drawing, keeping a clean sheet and being disappointed shows that.

‘If you analyse it at the beginning of the season and say “this is what Chelsea are going to do” you would think there is no chance they would be where they are.

‘In a way it is progression. Playing there in very difficult circumstances with the wind and the rain. Everton is always a difficult place to go no matter their position in the league.

‘To keep a clean sheet – you have to score goals but nevertheless they have gone there and set out that they are not going to lose, they will leave with at least a point, and that is not a bad thing.

‘Chelsea at the moment are feeling good and working really hard for each other.’

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