Christopher Nkunku’s time at AC Milan currently appears destined to be a short one, with a summer solution being sought.
As Corriere dello Sport recall, Nkunku has inflated only six balloons in all competitions this season: one in the Coppa Italia and the other five in the league. His brace against Verona on December 28 gave the hope of a resurgence, followed by goals against Fiorentina, Como and Bologna.
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Then, nothing: no more smiles, no more celebrations, no more spark in his performances. For a few years now, Nkunku has been this: an obvious talent, crushed by the weight of expectations from the €65m Chelsea spent to snatch him from RB Leipzig after a Bundesliga campaign with 18 goals.
He was severely impacted by a nasty knee injury in 2023 and never returning to the levels he had shown before. Milan could have been his chance to rediscover himself, away from the turmoil of Stamford Bridge, like Christian Pulisic did. It has not gone that way.
One year and done
Having arrived at the beginning of September for €38m plus €4m in bonuses, Nkunku took a while to get up to spped, considering his turbulent summer. He only found consistent play during the winter, especially between December and January, but even then he was never a regular starter.
Among his 28 league appearances (12 as a starter, 16 as a substitute), a notable example was the great opportunity against Napoli, which he failed to capitalize on with a timid and ineffective performance.
The Frenchman’s future will be far from Milan, and a summer sale is the most likely scenario. Milan have already set a price: around €30m, a figure necessitated by the financial statements to avoid a capital loss.
Fenerbahçe had made an offer in January and it’s not out of the question that the Turkish club could return to try again, although the Istanbul club will first have to choose their coach for next season before evaluating any potential signings.
The Premier League is a possibility: the deals for Samuel Chukwueze and Noah Okafor demonstrate that mid-tier English clubs have the ability (and the desire) to try to relaunch struggling players. The exciting prospect of a move to Saudi Arabia remains on the table too.
Any proceeds from the sale will then be used by Milan to strengthen their attack. In addition to a natural centre-forward, Allegri will recommend the right names depending on the formation to be used. If the 3-5-2 formation is kept, a second striker will be sought.
Brahim contract until 2027. Dybala gonna be free agent.
if we are getting Vlahovic and Sorloth in for Leao and Fulkrug. Pulisic will need a sub. Diaz and Dybala would be good additions.
pulisic sucks big time
Right on the topic. Well done.
I like pizza.
Diaz Dybala wtf ??
Milan make big mistake purchasing Nkunku instead agreeing 1 year loan with option to buy.
Now Milan must be ready to loan him out just to save 16 million from his yearly cost.
And than hoping he will manage to show something just like Chukwueze did and sell him a year later.
What an absolute waste of 40mil that anyone could have seen working out as a flop. The geniuses who thought he was a good signing are in charge of upgrading our squad this summer…. Next Level Stuff.
30 mil? No chance. Zero.
Best case is to loan him out for maybe 6-7 mil back to England or Germany and PRAY he has a great year that triggers a buy.
30 mil? Ahahahahahahahaha. Keep dreaming. Don’t even think Saudis would pay that for him.
40m for 6x balloon d’or is cheap + he’s exChelsea mean he was priority in transfer target
Nkunku is never given enough playing time to prove his worth at,he only recovered from injury at Chelsea when we signed him, now that he’s fully fit, the coach should have given him more playing time,he is a great player and selling him cheap this summer especially if Leo is going doesn’t make sense.