Soccer Football - Premier League - Chelsea v Southampton - Stamford Bridge, London, Britain - February 25, 2025 Chelsea's Christopher Nkunku celebrates scoring their first goal with a balloon REUTERS/David Klein EDITORIAL USE ONLY. NO USE WITH UNAUTHORIZED AUDIO, VIDEO, DATA, FIXTURE LISTS, CLUB/LEAGUE LOGOS OR 'LIVE' SERVICES. ONLINE IN-MATCH USE LIMITED TO 120 IMAGES, NO VIDEO EMULATION. NO USE IN BETTING, GAMES OR SINGLE CLUB/LEAGUE/PLAYER PUBLICATIONS. PLEASE CONTACT YOUR ACCOUNT REPRESENTATIVE FOR FURTHER DETAILS..
Tottenham Hotspur are exploring the conditions of a deal for Chelsea forward Christopher Nkunku. Spurs are reeling from a disappointing end to a transfer sage which saw top target Eberechi Eze join Arsenal despite having a deal nearly agreed for the player.
Tottenham were already urgently on the market for a replacement for James Maddison, whose long term injury leaves new manager Thomas Frank with a gap in his squad. TeamTalk has reported that Spurs have not yet formally approached Chelsea for Nkunku, but have placed the player firmly in their sights.
Chelsea manager Enzo Maresca in his pre-match press conference on Thursday mentioned Nkunku as one of the players who is likely to leave Stamford Bridge this summer. Nkunku, alongside Nicolas Jackson, Ben Chilwell, and Raheem Sterling – was omitted from the Chelsea squad that drew 0-0 in their league opener against Crystal Palace last week.
The player has been linked with a return to his former club RB Leipzig as well as their Bundesliga rivals Bayern Munich and has a reported value of around £50m. The figure is near the £52m Chelsea paid for him from RB Leipzig in 2023.
He has struggled for consistency at Stamford Bridge due in part to injuries and now finds himself low on the pecking order at the club.
Spurs eyeing Nkunku
Nkunku is still highly rated across Europe with may suitors vying for his signature. He is versatile, as he can player anywhere across the front line and would bring flair and creativity to Spurs.
His best season came in 2022/23 for Leipzig, when he struck 20 goals in 34 Bundesliga matches. He has shown glimpses of his ability since then but has not come close to reproducing those numbers.
Chelsea would prefer to sell the player outside of the Premier League, but have not closed the door completely. The Blues will be looking to offset as much of their transfer outlay as possible and could be tempted into a sale.
Spurs have already invested heavily this summer, bringing in Mohammed Kudus from West Ham and making the loans of Kevin Danso and Mathys Tel permanent.
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