Bidding war ERUPTS for unhappy Chelsea star

Carlo Garganese

• Updated: 3 Dec 2024 08:00 GMT
• 3 min read

A bidding war has erupted in Saudi Arabia for unhappy Chelsea star Christopher Nkunku.

According to Fichajes, a number of Saudi Arabian clubs are fighting it out for the France attacker ahead of the January transfer window.

The report states that bids as high as €60 million have been offered to Chelsea for the wantaway star.

Nkunku is already of interest to Manchester United and PSG but a bidding war has now broken out among Saudi clubs.

It has been reported in recent weeks that unless Chelsea manager Enzo Maresca starts playing Nkunku regularly in the biggest matches, he will push to leave the club in January.

Nkunku has had a difficult time at Chelsea since his €62 million move from Leipzig in the summer of 2023.

Injury issues limited him to just 14 appearances during his debut campaign (only two starts) and while he has enjoyed a prolific start to the new season, Nkunku isn’t a key player under Maresca and has mainly featured in the minor cup competitions.

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Although he has scored 11 goals in all competitions, only one of these has been in the Premier League. Seven have been in the Europa League and three in the League Cup against mostly sub-standard opponents.

Indeed, Nkunku has started just once in league football this season and is increasingly frustrated by his position in the Chelsea pecking order.

Despite reports from Ben Jacobs and others that Nkunku is content at Stamford Bridge, it is widely reported that he has made it clear that he expects to play regularly in the next month ahead of the January transfer market.

Man Utd want Nkunku

Until now, Man Utd are the team who have been most linked to Nkunku.

New Man Utd manager Ruben Amorim feels that Nkunku is the perfect inside forward for his 3-4-3 formation, and the Frenchman is keen on the move as he struggles to be a starter at Stamford Bridge.

Nkunku impressed during the recent international break for France, starting during the 3-1 win for Les Bleus over Italy at San Siro.

That result meant that a France side missing Kylian Mbappe, Theo Hernandez and other important players finished topped their UEFA Nations League group ahead of Italy.

His fortunes have not improved much, though, since returning with Chelsea and he played just 20 minutes as a substitute in the 3-0 win over Aston Villa on Sunday.