Latest news with #ChristopherNkunku
Yahoo
13 hours ago
- Business
- Yahoo
Seven players Chelsea can still sell following Joao Felix transfer
Chelsea are, once again, looking to sell several first-team players in the summer transfer window to trim the fat on their bloated squad. Joao Felix is the latest to leave Stamford Bridge, joining Saudi Pro League side Al-Nassr for an initial £26.2m (€30m) fee and £17.5m (€20m) in potential add-ons. The Blues spend a lot of silly money on new signings, but they have also become adept at shifting unwanted players in recent years. This summer they have managed to raise £135.7m from sales, with their net spend coming to £82.3m. Still, Chelsea have 44 players in their senior squad and can only register 25 for the Premier League next season (although under-21 footballers are not included on the squad lists). Nine players have already departed, but it's clear that even more need to leave before the 2025/26 campaign kicks off. Here are some of the men on the fringe who have been linked with a move away this summer. Six players Chelsea can still sell following Joao Felix transfer Christopher Nkunku One of the more disappointing Chelsea signings in recent years, Christopher Nkunku's time at the club has been hampered by injury issues and poor form. The France international does not lack for suitors, though, with both Bayern Munich and Manchester United linked with a move since January. Nottingham Forest and Newcastle United are also said to be interested, with the west London prepared to sell him for a little over £43m. Nicolas Jackson A lack of a clinical edge could cost Nicolas Jackson his Chelsea career. The Senegal striker has shown glimpses of being a top player, but has too often fluffed his lines in front of goal. The 24-year-old would make a good signing for a Premier League club, though, with both Manchester United and Newcastle linked with a move, although the Red Devils have apparently moved onto other targets. Read – Raheem Sterling We've rarely seen a fall from grace as steep as Raheem Sterling's. A few short years ago he was considered one of the Premier League's elite attackers at Manchester City, but now he's a shell of his former self at just 30 years of age. An underwhelming loan spell at Arsenal last season will not have inspired many clubs to take a punt on his this year, although Fulham are reportedly interested in the winger. Read – Ben Chilwell The ostracisation of Ben Chilwell is an odd one, as he has always played quite well for Chelsea. Regardless, the left-back found himself surplus to requirements under Enzo Maresca and spent the second half of last season on loan with Borussia Dortmund. After failing to get a move away last summer amid links with Manchester United, he made one appearance in the League Cup before joining Crystal Palace on a half-season long loan, helping the club win the FA Cup in May. A return to Selhurst Park seems unlikely after the Eagles bought Borna Sosa from Ajax, so who know where he will end up. Read – Carney Chukwuemeka Three years after Chelsea signed him from Aston Villa, Carney Chukwuemeka looks set to depart. Once considered a hot prospect, we have seen very little from the attacking midfielder at Stamford Bridge. He made just five appearances, none in the Premier League, last season before joining Borussia Dortmund on a half-season long loan RB Leipzig are reportedly in talks about a potential deal, with Xavi Simons possibly going in the other direction. Read – Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall When Chelsea bought Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall from Leicester City last summer, it was clearly a new manager signing. And yet, Maresca barely used the midfielder in his debut campaign. It still feels very odd that Conor Gallagher was replaced with Dewsbury-Hall and would not be the least bit surprising if the 26-year-old leaves. Fulham have been linked with a possible move. Renato Veiga Despite barely playing for Chelsea since joining from Basel for £12m last year, Renato Veiga could fetch the club a tidy profit. The striker made 18 appearances in all competitions, most of them in cup competitions, before being loaned out to Juventus in January. Now Atletico Madrid are reportedly in for him, with the Blues slapping a £34.6m price tag on the Portuguese player. Read – See Also – Follow The Football Faithful on Social Media: | | | |
Yahoo
4 days ago
- Sport
- Yahoo
INEOS now ready to rival Bayern for ‘unstoppable' frontman who's a ‘thorn' in defenders' sides
Manchester United are considering scuppering Bayern Munich's pursuit of Christopher Nkunku, with the forward nailed on to leave Chelsea in the coming weeks. Already ranking behind Nicolas Jackson in the pecking order at Stamford Bridge, Nkunku is poised to see his minutes slashed even more after the Blues sanctioned the arrivals of both Liam Delap and Joao Pedro – to the point even Jackson now faces an uncertain future. The French international did feature throughout Chelsea's triumphant Club World Cup campaign, although he was really only playing to hopefully catch the eyes of his suitors before engaging in exit negotiations. Journalist Zach Lowy previously went as far as hailing him as 'unstoppable' and for being a 'thorn' in defenders' sides. Bayern set sights on Nkunku coup Nkunku has been utilised sparingly by Enzo Maresca. (Photo by) To Nkunku's delight, he has seen himself added to Bayern Munich's shortlist, which would allow him to return to the league where he showcased his most prolific goalscoring attributes in the form of the Bundesliga. His record in Germany speaks for itself: 47 goals and 43 assists in 119 appearances across four seasons with RB Leipzig made it no surprise that Chelsea forked out £52 million to add him to their ranks back in June 2023. Yet, unrelenting injury issues plagued Nkunku's first season in London; he was available to play only 14 times – including two Premier League starts – and returned three goals. The subsequent term saw him facing a mammoth task to claim a starting spot and, while he did feature 48 times in total, just nine of those came from the off in the league. What's United's stance on Nkunku? TeamTalk suggests United will offer the 27-year-old the opportunity to continue plying his trade in the English top flight but, ultimately, the chance to join a side like Bayern, who'll be well in the mix to win the Champions League and other silverware, may prove too lucrative to turn down. More Stories / Latest News INEOS now ready to rival Bayern for 'unstoppable' frontman who's a 'thorn' in defenders' sides Jul 24 2025, 10:28 'Shock enquiry' made: United's PL rivals look to unsettle fan-favourite after contract negotiations stall Jul 24 2025, 7:53 United player working behind the scenes to convince £43m starlet of Old Trafford move after INEOS register interest Jul 24 2025, 7:09
Telegraph
4 days ago
- Business
- Telegraph
Premier League heavyweights in £1bn spending frenzy as rivals left behind
Chelsea are on course to become the second Premier League club to take their summer spending commitments towards £300m as last season's top four threaten to pull away from the chasing pack. With almost six weeks of the transfer window remaining, the top four clubs may well commit to deals worth a combined £1bn by the end of it. That is in stark contrast to last season's fifth and sixth-placed clubs, Newcastle United and Aston Villa, who have not yet spent £100m between them. Forward Xavi Simons and defender Jorrel Hato are the latest players Chelsea are making progress on, having already signed Liam Delap, João Pedro and Jamie Gittens and completed deals that were set up for this summer such as the captures of Dário Essugo, Willian Estêvão and Mamadou Sarr. Chelsea will offset their spending by making over £200m in sales, with Christopher Nkunku the latest example of the kind of interest their fringe players can generate. Bayern Munich, Nottingham Forest, Newcastle and clubs in Italy have all registered an interest in Nkunku, while Villa are yet to receive a single realistic offer for one of their star players, Emiliano Martínez. A deal for RB Leipzig star Simons, who wants to join Chelsea and is valued at around £60m, is dependent on at least one sale being agreed but that should not be an issue with Nkunku now a wanted man, João Félix a target of Benfica and others, and the possibility of offers for Nicolas Jackson. Carney Chukwuemeka is one of at least three players Leipzig have asked about signing and the midfielder also has interest from the Premier League, with Chelsea wanting to sell him permanently rather than agreeing to another loan move to Borussia Dortmund. Sources are confident Chelsea can strike a deal to sign Simons, but they also retain interest in Alejandro Garnacho and Morgan Rogers. Chelsea's interest in Ajax defender Hato, who can play as a left-sided central defender or as a left-back, has been well documented and space would be made for his arrival with at least one defensive sale. Renato Veiga has been the subject of an approach from Atletico Madrid. Telegraph Sport reported this week that Liverpool have agreed to commit to almost £300m in transfer fees with the capture of Hugo Ekitike and they remain interested in Marc Guéhi, while Arsenal want to advance towards £200m by signing Viktor Gyokeres and may yet bid for Eberechi Eze. Manchester City could surpass £150m by nicking goalkeeper James Trafford from under the noses of Newcastle. The speed and power with which last season's top four clubs have moved is already prompting insider predictions that they will not be dislodged in the forthcoming season. One boardroom source told Telegraph Sport: 'The top four are pulling away. Look at what they are doing in comparison to the rest of the League.' Manchester United and Tottenham Hotspur are trying to keep up and prove that talk of the days of the traditional big six being over were premature, but they have a lot of ground to make up on Liverpool, Arsenal, City and Chelsea. According to figures taken from Transfermarkt, United have committed to deals worth £133m so far this summer and may well go higher if they can land a new striker. Spurs have spent £122m and hope to get to at least £181m by adding Morgan Gibbs-White. How much more business United and Tottenham can do is likely to depend on sales or further investment, but both clubs have signalled their intent to try to get back into the top six. Newcastle, Villa, Forest and Brighton and Hove Albion have broken into the top four and competed to break up the so-called traditional big six over recent years, but they are falling behind in the transfer window. Telegraph Sport this week documented Newcastle's difficulties after missing out on a host of top targets to rivals, while Villa's plans have been held up by an inability to sell the necessary players to generate funds and make space on the club's wage bill. It has been noticeable that while Chelsea have been able to find buyers for the likes of Veiga, Noni Madueke and Djordje Petrovic, Villa have not yet had realistic bids for star players such as Martínez, Ollie Watkins and Jacob Ramsey which could be key to unlocking their transfer window. Forest have lost Anthony Elanga to Newcastle and are battling Tottenham over Gibbs-White. They are one of a host of clubs to have registered an interest in Nkunku, but face serious competition for the former Leipzig star. Ben Doak and Dan Ndoye are two other targets, while there has also been interest in Ramsey. Villa are believed to have held discussions over offering a new contract to Ramsey, but a sale cannot be discounted just yet. Newcastle, Villa and Forest will all be hopeful of finishing the transfer window in good shape, but Chelsea, Liverpool, Arsenal and City have already started on their dash to break clear.
Yahoo
7 days ago
- Sport
- Yahoo
Inter target Openda and Nkunku as Chivu makes transfer request
Corriere dello Sport reports that Loïs Openda and Christopher Nkunku are among Inter's targets in attack as the Nerazzurri's new coach, Cristian Chivu, has demanded a creative striker to replace Mehdi Taremi. Inter target Openda and Nkunku Inter have targeted RB Leipzig striker Openda and Chelsea forward Nkunku to strengthen their attacking department this summer. According to Corriere dello Sport, Openda is slightly favourite over the out-of-favour Chelsea player, but certainly Chivu has demanded a new creative striker who can add unpredictability to the final third, replacing Taremi. Inter have already signed Ange-Yoan Bonny from Parma and have decided to keep Francesco Pio Esposito, but they are looking to offload Taremi after a disappointing debut season at San Siro. Inter set spending limit for new striker According to Corriere dello Sport, Fulham, Nottingham Forest, and Besiktas have already sounded out the striker's availability, while his agents have offered him to José Mourinho's Fenerbahce. Corriere dello Sport claims that Inter don't want to spend more than €30-€35m for a new striker this summer and that their asking price for Taremi is around €10m.
Telegraph
21-07-2025
- Sport
- Telegraph
Chelsea eye another attacker with Xavi Simons keen on move
Chelsea have made a check on Xavi Simons with the player believed to be open to a transfer to Stamford Bridge – but a move for another attacker may be dependent on a departure. Despite already signing Liam Delap, João Pedro, Jamie Gittens and preparing for the arrival of Willian Estêvão, Chelsea have not ruled out signing another attacker in this transfer window. They have already registered interest in Alejandro Garnacho, Morgan Rogers and have been linked with Fermín López, and it has now emerged a check has been made on RB Leipzig star Simons. Any firm move for one of their attacking targets, however, may depend on the sale or movement of another of Chelsea's current forwards. Noni Madueke sealed his move to Arsenal last week and there are question marks over the long-term and short-term futures of more Chelsea attackers. Christopher Nkunku is expected to leave the club and his departure would almost certainly lead to Chelsea moving to replace him with a profile of a player such as Simons or Rogers, who can play centrally behind a striker or from the left. João Félix can leave Chelsea this summer, with Benfica interested in re-signing him and other clubs making checks on the Portuguese. As reported by Telegraph Sport, Nicolas Jackson is not deemed untouchable and could leave if Chelsea receive a big bid while teenager Tyrique George may leave on loan to help his development. Mykhailo Mudryk has been charged by the Football Association for doping offences and is facing the threat of a long ban. Chelsea want as many as nine players competing for their attacking positions in the forthcoming season and Simons is thought to be a realistic target. The club's qualification for the Champions League and Club World Cup success has elevated them in the eyes of players based outside England and Simons is thought to be interested in the prospect of moving to Stamford Bridge. Arsenal are believed to have also registered an interest, but it is Chelsea who are currently rated the most attractive of the English options. As reported in Spain, Simons is working with high-profile agent Ali Barat over a summer move. Barat has good links to both Chelsea and Arsenal, having helped facilitate the Madueke switch between the two clubs and also acted for Moisés Caicedo and Jackson in their moves to Stamford Bridge.
