Revealed: What Man Utd will have to pay for Nkunku
Robin Bairner
- 23 Feb 2022 13:29 GMT
- 3 min read
Manchester United have been closely linked with a move for RB Leipzig attacker Christopher Nkunku for several weeks now.
The links are logical. Nkunku, after all, is well known to interim boss Ralf Rangnick, who is set to move upstairs into a sporting director role at the end of the season. The versatile Frenchman, meanwhile, has performed heroics for his club both at home and abroad this season, becoming Leipzig’s go-to star.
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Nkunku, then, will not readily be allowed to depart in the summer, particularly as he has a contract that runs until June 2024.
Indeed, Bild reports that Man Utd will have to pay in the region of €75 million (£62m) if they want to secure his services.
United may feel this is a price worth paying for a player who has been bang in form since September. Indeed, Nkunku has 22 goals and 13 assists this season in all competitions, despite making only 33 appearances. Since the turn of the year, he has scored six Bundesliga goals in six matches and has created two more.
What is Nkunku worth?
According to FootballTransfers’ algorithm, which generates the values of players based on hundreds of in-game data points, Man Utd would be paying over the odds for Nkunku at €75m. Instead, his true value is closer to the €46m mark, though the margin of error means that a figure up to €58m could be justified.
Nkunku does not have a higher estimated value than this because his excellent form has only been over a five-month spell. Should he continue at this level until the end of the season, his valuation will only climb – and that may mean that by the summer €75m is considered a fair price.
Certainly, Man Utd are only likely to be interested if he continues to play a starring role for Leipzig between now and May. If Nkunku does that, there is every chance he will be off in the summer, and €75m will not seem such a steep price.
