It was back to Premier League action for Chelsea on Tuesday evening as we hosted Bournemouth at Stamford Bridge, and whilst the result did not go our way, Reece James getting more action was a boost for everyone but it seems that Christopher Nkunku will continue to dominate headlines this week.
We again dominated Bournemouth in all the telling statistics, but having come on as a 56th minute substitute, James’ stoppage time free kick was needed to entitle Chelsea to a share of the points as we were utterly wasteful at the top end of the pitch.
Having featured in the prior 5-0 victory over Morecambe in the FA Cup, 27 year old Christopher Nkunku was again missing from the match day squad. As we now prepare for the coming league game with Wolverhampton Wanderers, the French international is back in the headlines with German Bundesliga side Bayern Munich being heavily linked with his services.
If reports are to be believed we are very open to a sale before the deadline day window slams shut, and with claims that Bayern have already opened talks with Chelsea over getting a deal done, it is said that we are holding out on a £65 million valuation and although we have apparently expressed an interest in their 19 year old talent, Mathys Tel, both deals are said to be at arms length and we are not looking at a cash plus player approach here.
The 14 capped former Paris Saint-Germain youth prospect only made the switch to Chelsea back in the summer of 2023, but with us paying RB Leipzig a reported £52 million for him, his capture can only be considered a colossal failure.
It stands as a prime example of our board spending for the sake of it, rather than for a players substance with knowledge of how they would fit into an over all team plan, as to date he has only made 15 starting appearances. 27 substitute showings have added to his minutes and he has returned a very solid 16 goals in that time, but you do not spend that kind of money on an impact substitute and not a regular starter.
This biggest issue on a sale from our point of view would be the valuation though. Every other club knows how we have spent in more recent seasons, and whilst his goals tell one story, his match minutes tell another one and there will be many in the True Blue fan base who would be amazed if we could even make our money back here and break even.
That simple fact is probably the driver behind us wanting any deal for Tel to be a totally separate piece of business, as we would no doubt be able to offset the relevant Financial Fair Play calculations in a better way especially with him still having four years left on his original deal.
With it being suggested that some months ago Christopher Nkunku had already voiced his displeasure at his game time behind the scenes, his opinion would not have changed as we entered the New Year so you would expect both the player and the club to be doing what they can to get a deal over the line.
But again, that loops us back to our valuation on him and his own personal requirements on new terms, and both parties may have to be flexible here. Looking at the wider picture, registering a small loss on the initial transfer fee but getting him and his wage off the books would still be considered a win, win for us as he is clearly still not really in Enzo Maresca’s plans, and despite his goal return versus starts, that place could go to better developing a player who does have a long term future at the club.
It is just bizarre that we are in this position when you consider he is still our joint leading goalscorer this season, tied on 13 across all competitions with Cole Palmer, but we will see what the remainder of the month holds.