Christopher Nkunku has agreed to join Chelsea in the summer transfer window in a deal reportedly worth 63 million pounds.
However, former Manchester United manager Ralf Rangnick has labeled the move “far too early” in a critical assessment of the Blue’s transfer policy.
Nkunku, who has been Leipzig’s best player with 17 goals in all competitions this season, signed a pre-contract deal in December to go to Chelsea after the current campaign.
This deal marked the club’s first splashy acquisition since Graham Potter took over as manager, and it was preceded by a January window in which owner Todd Boehly spent a total of £323 million on players including Enzo Fernandez, Benoit Badiashile, and Mykhailo Mudryk.
Despite the team’s efforts to improve midway through the season, Chelsea’s on-field performance deteriorated to the point that Potter was fired and interim head coach Frank Lampard was put in place to see out the season.
The Blues are currently 11th in the Premier League and have not won a match in all competitions since early March and were eliminated from the Champions League by Real Madrid last week.
Rangnick, who was in charge of Nkunku at Leipzig, thinks that the player made a mistake by signing with the struggling London club.
Rangnick and Nkunku became quite close after the France international joined Leipzig in 2019.
Speaking about Christophe Nkunku transfer deal; Rangnick said “At the moment, no matter who comes as a coach, you can’t really recommend anyone to go there (Chelsea)”.
“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 is one of the best-attacking midfielders currently available. And who, in my opinion, decided to move to Chelsea far too early”.
He added that “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”.
Since Boehly arrived at Stamford Bridge last summer, Chelsea have spent about £530 million on 17 new players, although manager Graham Potter was fired in early April.
Boehly immediately fired Thomas Tuchel in September last year, and the former Brighton manager was brought in to take his place. Tuchel has since accepted a position as Bayern Munich’s manager.
In the meantime, Julian Nagelsmann, Tuchel’s predecessor in Bavaria, who used to be a top candidate to take over as manager of the Blues at the end of the season has withdrawn his interest.
Before he withdrew his interest, Rangnick, a former temporary manager at Manchester United, had cautioned him not to take over at Chelsea because of the club’s dismal Premier League standing.
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