Chelsea Looks to Sell Nkunku as Pursuit of Xavi Simons Heats Up

Chelsea is planning big changes this summer. Christopher Nkunku might leave for Bayern Munich, so the club can buy Xavi Simons and Alejandro Garnacho.

WHAT HAPPENED?

Chelsea may sell Christopher Nkunku, who can’t secure a starting spot after joining from RB Leipzig. Injuries and mixed form restricted him to 61 matches, scoring 18 goals. Despite winning the Club World Cup in July, he isn’t part of manager Enzo Maresca’s plans. As reported, Christopher Nkunku is in talks to leave Chelsea before the transfer window closes.

Bayern Munich previously failed to sign Stuttgart’s Nick Woltemade and now want Nkunku. Chelsea is willing to sell him permanently, with Bayern leading Manchester United, Tottenham, and Inter Milan. Reports state Chelsea is open to offers between £35-43 million to fund moves for Xavi Simons and Alejandro Garnacho.

TRANSFER STRATEGY AND TEAM CONTEXT

Chelsea finished fourth in the Premier League last season, qualifying for the Champions League. They need new attacking players and have already signed Joao Pedro and Jamie Gittens. This crowding led to targeting Xavi Simons from RB Leipzig and Alejandro Garnacho from Manchester United for roughly £100m to close the squad for the upcoming season. Chelsea has spent over £240 million on attacking players for the Premier League season.

Bayern Munich, under Vincent Kompany, also needs offensive reinforcements without Leroy Sane and Kingsley Coman who have left the team, and Jamal Musiala’s long-term injury, and their failure to sign other targets makes Nkunku the priority. Selling Nkunku helps their rebuild financially while moving their top options higher in the schedule before opening against Crystal Palace. Nkunku’s transfer greenlights movement forward on one front next.

WHAT’S NEXT FOR CHELSEA AND BAYERN?

Bayern intends to accelerate their strategy, with the Bundesliga starting soon, and the Champions League campaign shortly after where the team will want to improve on last season’s quarter-finals exit. Both teams will want to get the move done soon, so they can move on to the closing deals before the end of the transfer window by the end of this month.