Chelsea ‘reach deal with RB Leipzig to sign 24yr old Christopher Nkunku and star is happy to make transfer’
The contract of the 24-year-old France star has a release clause of roughly £53 million.
According to Fabrizio Romano, Chelsea will not activate that provision.
Nonetheless, the two teams have a verbal agreement in place for Nkunku to join Chelsea at the end of the season.
Instead of triggering his release clause, the Blues “have an arrangement with RB Leipzig for a different form of payment,” according to Romano.
On the club side, the only thing left to do is finalise the transaction.
On the player front, Nkunku is said to be delighted to join the Blues.
Chelsea and RB Leipzig reached an agreement in September to sign the gifted forward.
He even had a physical in preparation for a possible relocation next summer.
Read more:
Meanwhile, according to SportBild, Oliver Mintzlaff’s exit as CEO of Leipzig would have no effect on the transaction.
Mintzlaff quit last week, but the deal with Chelsea for Nkunku remains in place.
He is alleged to have assured Nkunku that if the proper deal came in, he would depart.
Nkunku has piqued the curiosity of many big European teams, including Paris Saint-Germain.
Last season, he scored 35 goals in 52 appearances for Leipzig.
He’s carried that form into this season, scoring 17 goals in 22 games across all competitions.
Last month, SunSport exclusively reported that Liverpool had dispatched scouts to study Nkunku in case his deal to Chelsea fell through.
But Blues owner Todd Boehly is anxious to sign Mintzlaff, whom he has seen for coffee in London on several occasions.
The Blues are also interested in Nkunku’s Leipzig teammate Josko Gvardiol.
