Chelsea boss Enzo Maresca has been reluctant to start Christopher Nkunku in the Premier League (Image: GETTY)
thought they had landed an absolute gem when they from RB Leipzig in the autumn of 2022. The attacker had just come off the back of two exceptional seasons where he bagged an incredible 58 goals in all competitions.
shelled out £52million to entice the France international away from Germany, with the star joining the club during the early days of ’s tenure.
But the Blues could now be ruing an expensive transfer as continues to overlook the versatile attacker in the .
Nkunku endured a miserable maiden campaign at Stamford Bridge last time around and was forced to undergo surgery just weeks into his Blues career after damaging his knee ligaments during pre-season.
He returned to action four-and-a-half months later but was then sidelined again towards the end of the campaign after picking up a hamstring injury.
The 27-year-old was expected to kick on this season and illustrate his prodigious talents in front of goal. But he has been forced to play second fiddle in the to Nicolas Jackson.
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Chelsea star Christopher Nkunku has averaged almost a goal every other game this season (Image: GETTY)
Jackson started 17 of ’s first 18 matches as he occupied the lone frontman role. And the Senegal international registered nine goals in those games.
Nkunku, meanwhile, has been ’s main man in the Conference League as he has been named in the starting line-up in five of their group stage matches and both of their qualifying games.
He also featured from the outset in the Blues’ two Carabao Cup matches and bagged a hat-trick as his side thumped Barrow 5-0 in September. But Maresca has only trusted him to start three times in the .
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Nkunku has featured in 27 matches for his side since the campaign got underway, with 15 of those appearances coming from the bench. He was given the nod to start against Ipswich on Monday evening, although he struggled to get going as his side suffered a shock 2-0 defeat.
Incredibly, he has still been able to rack up 12 goals this season, meaning he is averaging almost a goal every other game.
Nkunku is clearly a menace in the box and is more than capable of firing the ball into the back of the net. But he could find himself growing more and more frustrated by the situation at Stamford Bridge if he continues to be snubbed by his manager.
And chiefs, who have been willing to pay huge transfer fees in exchange for talented players, may now be thinking their money could have been put to better use elsewhere.