Chelsea complete signing of France forward Christopher Nkunku for reported £63m

By Robert O'Connor, PA

Chelsea have completed the signing of France international Christopher Nkunku from RB Leipzig.

The 25-year-old forward made a pre-contract agreement to join the club in December but has now completed the move for a reported £63million (€73 million) on a six-year contract.

He scored 23 goals in 36 appearances for the Bundesliga side during the 2022/23 season and becomes the first major arrival since Mauricio Pochettino was confirmed as the club’s new manager.

The club confirmed the signing via their Twitter account on Tuesday.

Nkunku told the club website: “I am incredibly happy to be joining Chelsea. A big effort was made to bring me to the club and I am looking forward to meeting my new coach and team-mates and showing the Chelsea supporters what I can do on the pitch.

“Having played in Ligue 1 and the Bundesliga, I now want to play in the Premier League, one of the strongest leagues in the world. I am very excited for this challenge and will be proud to wear the Chelsea shirt.”

Nkunku’s final action in Germany was scoring against Eintracht Frankfurt to help Leipzig lift the DFB Cup last month.

His arrival comes after Chelsea recorded their lowest-scoring season of the Premier League era and one of the lowest in the club’s history, with their league tally of 38 their worst return since 1924.

Nkunku, who made his debut for France in November last year, was forced to miss the World Cup in Qatar after injuring his knee during the team’s pre-tournament training camp.

It was part of an injury-hit campaign that saw him make only 25 appearances in the Bundesliga, having been ever-present in the side during the previous campaign.

Nevertheless, his 16 league goals were enough for him to finish as the division’s top scorer.

Laurence Stewart and Paul Winstanley, Chelsea’s co-sporting directors, said: “Christopher has proved himself one of the standout attacking players in European football over the past two seasons and will add quality, creativity and versatility to our squad.

“He has demonstrated his ability at the highest level with RB Leipzig and France and we look forward to him joining up with his new team-mates ahead of the new season.”