Chelsea already have an agreement in place for their first signing of the summer
(Image credit: Darren Walsh/Chelsea FC via Getty Images)
Chelsea have already made their first signing of the 2023 transfer window.
It will come as a surprise to no one, given that Todd Boehly has spent £600 million at the club since acquiring it last summer – but the Blues have yet to give an official confirmation. Not a "comunicado oficial" or anything. Isn't that usually what happens?
Regardless, according to various sources, Christopher Nkunku is 100% a Blue. Though there have been a lot of rumours this week of the player himself "considering himself" a Chelsea star already – Football Insider revealed that the deal is "wrapped up with all parties despite no official announcement from the player or either club" – it's been stamped by the sellers themselves.
Christopher Nkunku will be joining Chelsea this summer… despite the club failing to confirm it themselves (Image credit: PA)
RB Leipzig sporting director Max Eberl told German outlet BILD in January that, “The signs are very, very clear that he’s moving to Chelsea.” It could even be that Nkunku is a replacement for the outgoing Mason Mount, who is locked in a contract standoff with his employers.
This one has been an open secret for a while, too. Transfer guru Fabrizio Romano first gave the Frenchman the famous "here we go" sign-off in December, ahead of the World Cup final – which Nkunku missed because of ligament damage.
Since then, the RB Leipzig star has had to sit on the sidelines and watch as his team were demolished 7-0 in the Champions League by Manchester City, failing to recover fully from injury.
It's likely that Chelsea don't want to reveal the deal just yet because so far, Nkunku has only signed a pre-contract. As seen with the Enzo Fernandez transfer, the west Londoners will only make an announcement when the official contract is signed, rather than an agreement being reached – even though it's a formality.
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The Enzo Fernandez deal was only announced very late on Deadline Day in January, despite being completed a few hours before (Image credit: Getty Images)
The fee for Nkunku believed to be around £60 million, with Italian journalist Romano tweeting last summer that a release clause at Leipzig would have become active during the 2023 summer transfer window, had the player have stayed.
The 25-year-old has 22 goals and assists in 27 games this season.
Mark White has been at on FourFourTwo since joining in January 2020, first as a staff writer before becoming content editor in 2023. An encyclopedia of football shirts and boots knowledge – both past and present – Mark has also represented FFT at both FA Cup and League Cup finals (though didn't receive a winners' medal on either occasion) and has written pieces for the mag ranging on subjects from Bobby Robson's season at Barcelona to Robinho's career. He has written cover features for the mag on Mikel Arteta and Martin Odegaard, and is assisted by his cat, Rosie, who has interned for the brand since lockdown.
