‘Imagine he goes to a club in that state – his father should be very worried!’: Christopher Nkunku agreed his £63m Chelsea move ‘far too early’, says his old RB Leipzig mentor Ralf Rangnick
Christopher Nkunku agreed his £63million move to Chelsea this summer ‘far too early’, former RB Leipzig manager Ralf Rangnick has concluded in a scathing assessment of the Blues’ transfer policy.
Nkunku, who has been Leipzig’s star man this campaign with 17 goals across all competitions, penned a pre-contract agreement to join Chelsea at the end of the season back in December.
The Frenchman’s move was the first statement signing under then-boss Graham Potter and preceded a January window of heavy spending from owner Todd Boehly, who splurged £323m in one month on new additions including Enzo Fernandez, Benoit Badiashile and Mykhailo Mudryk.
Despite the mid-season rebuild, Chelsea continued to suffer on the pitch and axed Potter as a result, placing former head coach Frank Lampard in charge on an interim basis until the end of the campaign.
The Blues, who were knocked out of the Champions League by Real Madrid last week, sit 11th in the Premier League and haven’t won a match in all competitions since early March.
RB Leipzig attacking midfielder Christopher Nkunku will join Chelsea at the end of the season having already penned a pre-contract agreement worth £63m with the club last December
Ralf Rangnick thinks the Frenchman made the decision ‘far too early’ and worries for his future at the struggling west London club – who are currently sitting 11th in the Premier League table
Former Leipzig boss Rangnick has criticised Nkunku’s decision to join the struggling London giants and believes he made the decision ‘far too early’.
Rangnick held a close relationship with Nkunku after the France international signed for Leipzig in 2019.
‘At the moment, no matter who comes as a coach, you can’t really recommend anyone to go there (to Chelsea),’ he told the ZDF sports studio via German newspaper Bild.
‘The very first thing to do is establish some sort of strategy and reduce the squad to a reasonable size that any coach can work with.
‘I’m also thinking of a player whose commitment to RB Leipzig I was at least a little involved in – Christopher Nkunku – for me one of the best attacking midfielders currently available. And who, in my opinion, decided to move to Chelsea far too early.
‘Imagine he comes to a club that is in the state it is at the moment. Such an outstanding player. This hurts my heart personally. If I were his advisor or his father, I would be very worried right now.’
Rangnick, who forged a close relationship with Nkunku (left) during his time as RB Leipzig manager, believes he’s one of the best attacking midfielders currently available in Europe
Todd Boehly (right) has splashed out around £530m on players since joining Chelsea last year
Chelsea have signed 17 players for approximately £530m since Boehly’s arrival at Stamford Bridge last summer but are still on the hunt for a new manager following the sacking of Potter in early April.
The ex-Brighton boss came in to replace Thomas Tuchel, who was swiftly axed by Boehly last September and has now taken on a new challenge at Bayern Munich.
Meanwhile, Tuchel’s predecessor in Bavaria – Julian Nagelsmann – is a frontrunner to land the Blues job at the end of the season after being ruthlessly sacked by the German giants, despite leading the Bundesliga and beating Paris Saint-Germain in the last-16 of the Champions League.
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