1 week ago
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Milan are poised to sign the Chelsea forward Christopher Nkunku for a package worth €42m (£36.2m). The deal contains a sell-on clause for the France international, who has agreed personal terms with the Serie A club.
Chelsea have revamped their attack and decided Nkunku is not part of their plans. They are expected to add to Enzo Maresca’s options by signing the Manchester United winger Alejandro Garnacho for between £35m and £40m.
The impending sale of Nkunku for €37m plus €5m in add-ons does not directly relate to the pursuit of Garnacho because they play in different positions.
Moving Nkunku out may create space for Chelsea to push for an attacking midfielder. They are interested in Barcelona’s Fermín López and RB Leipzig’s Xavi Simons. Tottenham have held talks with Leipzig over Simons and are primed to make a bid.
Spurs are determined to sign a No 10 after failing with moves for Morgan Gibbs-White and Eberechi Eze – and with James Maddison and Dejan Kulusevski out with long-term injuries. They hope to close a deal for Simons, who Leipzig are keen to sell as they restructure their squad.
Leipzig value Simons at €70m, although they may accept a little less because time is tight before Monday’s deadline and they want to push ahead with a bid for Liverpool’s Harvey Elliott. He remains close to Jürgen Klopp, the former Liverpool manager, who is the head of football at Red Bull.
Spurs had a conversation about Simons earlier in the summer but at the time his representatives indicated that if he left Leipzig he would only want to join Chelsea, who had made inquiries. It is understood Charlie wanted to include one of their players in any move for Simons but this did not appeal to Leipzig, with most of them too expensive in terms of wages.
Leipzig have sought to cap the basic annual salaries of their new signings at €5m, albeit they can earn more via performance-related add-ons. Simons is the club’s top earner on a basic €11m a year.
Leipzig were one of the teams pushing for Nkunku, who left the Bundesliga side for £52m in 2023. The 27-year-old has struggled for form and fitness at Chelsea. He picked up a knee injury during his first pre-season and was unable to build momentum. He had a bit-part role under Maresca last season, although he made contributions to Chelsea winning the Club World Cup this summer.
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Bayern Munich held talks over Nkunku but were interested only in a loan. Chelsea wanted a permanent sale. Their position is slightly different on Nicolas Jackson, who may be allowed to go on loan if the deal contains an obligation to buy. Bayern, Aston Villa, Napoli, Juventus and Newcastle are tracking the striker.
Chelsea are prepared to wait to see how the Alexander Isak situation plays out at Newcastle before committing to a final decision on Jackson, who is likely to be reintegrated in Maresca’s squad if he stays.
Roma, Leipzig and a host of English sides are monitoring the 19-year-old winger Tyrique George.
