Liverpool want to sign Christopher Nkunku in 2023 – despite his injury at the World Cup – although Chelsea appear to be in pole position.
It was Fussball Transfers who claimed that Jürgen Klopp wants to sign the France international, who saw his World Cup dream ended just days before the tournament after suffering a knee injury in training.
Now, Ben Jacobs has revealed that Chelsea are still confident of wrapping up a deal, despite Nkunku’s setback, although Liverpool are not out of the race just yet.
Liverpool can still hijack Chelsea move
Well, Jacobs – a journalist for CBS Sports – has given an update on the Nkunku situation, claiming that there is now an agreement between RB Leipzig and Chelsea, with the Bundesliga outfit previously labelling the story as a transfer rumour.
Despite the German side’s apparent acknowledgement of the deal, Jacobs adds that other clubs can still hijack the move until all the paperwork is signed, with the 25-year-old set to join in the summer of 2023.
Fussball Transfers add that RB Leipzig want £53m for their talisman, which is a reasonable price given how utterly prolific he has been across the last 18 months.
Nkunku remarkably scored 35 goals in all competitions last season, and began the current campaign on fire with 17 goals in 23 appearances for RB Leipzig.
The World Cup represented an opportunity for the RB Leipzig No.18 to show his talents to the entire planet, although he will sadly now have to wait until 2026 for his next chance.
Liverpool & Chelsea may selfishly be pleased
In our view, while Nkunku’s injury is devastating for him on a personal level, it may please Liverpool and Chelsea from a financial viewpoint.
£53m is a fair price to pay, but if the Frenchman avoided injury and impressed at the World Cup – as he was expected to do – then that figure may have increased significantly.
For example, James Rodriguez completed a £63m move to Real Madrid after shining at the 2014 World Cup in Brazil, and with inflation taken into account, the Reds and the Blues may have been staring a £70m asking price in the face had Nkunku not suffered his injury.
Hopefully, Nkunku can recover quickly, and go on to have a successful second half of the campaign.
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