Chelsea splash ‘£52m’ on Christopher Nkunku

Chelsea have announced the signing of French forward Christopher Nkunku from RB Leipzig.

According to BBC Sport, Chelsea will pay £52 million for Nkunku’s transfer to Stamford Bridge.

The signing, which is the club’s first completed deal of the summer, takes Chelsea’s transfer spend since January 2023 to £375 million.

The 25-year-old former Paris Saint-Germain (PSG) player will sign a six-year contract that will run until June 2029. He will become a Chelsea player from July 1.

The free-spending but faltering London side announced Nkunku’s imminent arrival via a short statement on Tuesday.

“Chelsea is delighted to announce Christopher Nkunku will join the club from RB Leipzig ahead of the 2023/24 season,” the club said.

“The 25-year-old, who has been capped 10 times by France, has agreed a six-year contract, which will begin on 1 July.”

Nkunku, who won the German Bundesliga highest goalscorer award last season, expressed his “delight” at joining the club and readiness to prove himself to Mauricio Pochettino, the club’s new coach.

“I am incredibly happy to be joining Chelsea. A big effort was made to bring me to the club and I am looking forward to meeting my new coach and teammates and showing the Chelsea supporters what I can do on the pitch,” he said.

“Having played in Ligue 1 and the Bundesliga, I now want to play in the Premier League, one of the strongest leagues in the world. I am very excited for this challenge and will be proud to wear the Chelsea shirt.”

Nkunku scored 47 goals and provided 43 assists in 119 Bundesliga games for RB Leipzig.