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.
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.
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.
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Chelsea are struggling with statistics showing recently that they're the worst scorers in the top four divisions of England. Transfer rumours are linking them with moves for former stars Tammy Abraham and Romelu Lukaku. Marc Cucurella could be sold after just one season, while contract rebel Mason Mount and N'Golo Kante are targets for Liverpool.
Chelsea have also apparently offered a swap deal to bring Joao Felix to the Bridge permanently.
