Christopher Nkunku’s time at Chelsea looks to be over.
Chelsea boss Enzo Maresca has admitted that the Frenchman is available to leave this summer, leaving him out of the Blues’ squad to face West Ham United.
It’s been a tough two years for Nkunku at Chelsea after a long-awaited transfer. Injuries hampered Nkunku’s first season, restricting the Frenchman to just 14 appearances.
It meant that Chelsea had to look elsewhere for attacking options. Cole Palmer arrived and thrived at Stamford Bridge, making himself undroppable. That had a negative impact on Nkunku’s playing time.
So he’s now being linked with a move away. Tottenham Hotspur and Bayern Munich are two clubs currently dominating the reports. But who would be the better fit for Nkunku?
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Nkunku to Bayern Munich
Bayern Munich are the favourites to sign Nkunku. And they’ve been linked with him all summer. The main issue for Bayern is that they were offering Chelsea a loan with an option to buy. But the Blues want to move Nkunku on permanently as soon as they can.
Bayern have already added to their attack this summer in Luis Diaz. The Colombian joined from Liverpool and started their DFL-Supercup win over Stuttgart. He scored Bayern’s second goal, securing the eventual 2-1 win.
Nkunku mostly played on the left for Chelsea in the league last season, but didn’t have the same success as Diaz did for Liverpool. As shown above, their playing positions were pretty similar. Nkunku and Diaz were mainly focused on the left, with some experience through the middle.
Diaz out-performed Nkunku on chances created, with 2.1 per 90 minutes to the Frenchman’s 1.4. He also completed more of his take-ons. Nkunku did have the better general passes record, though, with more passes completed per 90 and better accuracy.
One of the main strengths of Bayern’s attack is the fluidity of the players behind Kane. Diaz, Michael Olise, Serge Gnabry and Jamal Musiala are all capable of playing across the attack. But the weakness is depth. Leroy Sane, Thomas Muller and Kingsley Coman have all left in the summer. And Musiala is out with a broken leg.
Looking at Bayern Munich’s four main winger/No.10 options in 2025-26, Nkunku doesn’t really stand out in comparison.
Olise and Musiala were the best-performing of our selection. But that’ll be aided by the fact that they were more consistent No.10s. Musiala averaged 0.6 goals per 90 in the Bundesliga last season, from 2.6 shots (excluding blocks). Only Gnabry (2.8) had more shots than Musiala of our selected quintet. Musiala also had a shot accuracy of 62.75%.
The German created 2.0 chances per 90 — though he only provided 0.1 assists — and completed 3.6 take-ons. Olise is the best replacement for Musiala while the German is out injured, with 0.5 goals per 90 and 62.07% shot accuracy. The Frenchman also led with his 0.6 assists per 90 from 3.4 chances created, and 56.72% ground duel success rate.
As mentioned, Gnabry led for shots and also joined Musiala on 0.6 goals per 90. Nkunku wasn’t as creative as any of the players, not did he shoot as frequently. He also didn’t have much success in take-ons or ground duels, with just 40.74% success rate of the latter.
And Nkunku only averaged 5.8 touches in the opposition box per 90. While different systems will play a role there, it’s still some way off the 9.4 Musiala managed. Or even the 8.0 average for Gnabry.
It feels like Nkunku would experience the same problems at Bayern as he did at Chelsea. There are players better than him in the positions he plays. So Nkunku wouldn’t be guaranteed starts.
Nkunku to Tottenham
Tottenham have had to deal with a transfer blow in August. They looked in a good position to sign Eberechi Eze, but the Englishman has opted to join rivals Arsenal instead. It leaves a gaping hole in Tottenham’s attacking midfield, with James Maddison ruled out long-term with an ACL injury.
Nkunku’s name has been thrown into the hat as a potential target. Now, the main downside to start with is Nkunku’s lack of minutes as a No.10 in the Premier League.
Just 5% of the Frenchman’s Premier League minutes for Chelsea came as the No.10. He either played as a striker/False No.9, or on the left flank. Nkunku did only have 6% as a sole No.10 during his four seasons in the Bundesliga with RB Leipzig. But he did play in a system with two No.10s behind a striker, boosting his percentage to 25%. And even when he played up front, it was in a supporting role.
Tottenham played in a 4-3-3 in their opening weekend win over Burnley, with Brennan Johnson and Mohammed Kudus as the wingers. And we know that Nkunku can play on the wing. But his arrival would also allow Thomas Frank to use the 4-2-3-1 that Tottenham did move into last season. And it’s what ended up using at Brentford. It was only a lack of personnel that forced Frank to avoid the system against Burnley.
If we look back to Nkunku’s penultimate season with RB Leipzig, there is reason to say that this would work. And we’re looking at this one, because he played a significant amount of time as a No.10. Of course, it’d require Nkunku re-finding that form, which isn’t always a guarantee as it came before a long-term injury.
But, let’s say he does. How does he compare to his positional competition among Tottenham’s current squad — and the men he’d be stepping in for? Those are Brennan Johnson, Mohammed Kudus, Maddison and Dejan Kulusevski.
The Frenchman averaged 2.0 shots excluding blocks per 90, which places him top. In fact, he also compares well for shot accuracy at goals, averaging 0.7 per 90 in the latter. Johnson and Maddison are his closest challengers based on their numbers from last season.
Only Kulusevski created more chances per 90 last season, at 2.5, compared to Nkunku’s 2.1 in 2021-22. But, again, Nkunku out-performed everyone else, including Maddison. And that’s the key thing here. He’s a replacement for Maddison, not someone to compete this season.
That’s what makes Tottenham the no-brainer for Nkunku. They need a star to pull the strings while also contributing to the attack through the middle. And with a bit of love — and a lot of guaranteed playing time — Nkunku can be that man.