Nkunku to Man Utd: Fabrizio Romano reveals truth behind Chelsea transfer

Suraj Radia

• 16 Nov 2024 08:50 GMT
• 3 min read

Fabrizio Romano has revealed the truth behind rumours surrounding Christopher Nkunku leaving Chelsea for Manchester United in January.

Nkunku is Chelsea’s top scorer in all competitions but nine of his ten goals have come outside the Premier League, with the 27-year-old having started just once in the competition this season.

The French international is believed to be growing frustrated with his limited gametime, prompting speculation that United have already held talks to sign Nkunku in January.

READ MORE: Amad to shine, Bruno to struggle - Ranking how Man Utd's stars will fit into Amorim's plans

However, Romano has played down the links, insisting that incoming United manager Ruben Amorim has yet to assess the squad or hold transfer talks with his new club.

“Manchester United have not even started to talk to Amorim about names for the January transfer window,” Romano said in his daily YouTube video. “Amorim has just arrived and is just adapting to everything at United, he has not had a meeting to discuss transfer targets at this stage.

“There can be an appreciation for Nkunku because he is a wonderful player but United have not started any sort of contact to bring him in or any other player because a lot will depend on Amorim’s opinion.”

Chelsea ‘not entertaining Nkunku talks

Nkunku joined Chelsea from RB Leipzig in 2023 for €60 million but his debut campaign was plagued with injury, leading to him making just 11 league appearances, nine of which were off the bench.

Current ETV

Christopher Nkunku

F (C), M (CL)

Chelsea

Christopher Nkunku

F (C), M (CL)

Chelsea

€30.6M

ETV Range

€22.9M - €38.2M

View full profile

Chelsea boss Enzo Maresca has remained loyal to his attacking core of Nicolas Jackson and Cole Palmer in the league, with Nkunku featuring largely in cup competitions, but Romano insisted that the Blues would still need to be convinced to sell the forward.

Romano said: “We also have to see the Chelsea side of the story, Nkunku is still an important player. He is not playing regularly in the Premier League but the club know the situation could be different in the second half of the season.

“Chelsea believe they are seeing the potential in Nkunku after his injuries and they are not entertaining any talks with any club to sell him, they still see him as an important player.”