TA: Nkunku is willing to return to Leipzig, provided that his old club can advance transfer negotiations

August 11 TheAthletic reported that Nkunku is open to returning to RB Leipzig, provided that its old club can advance transfer negotiations.

The 27-year-old player has received inquiries from Bundesliga, Premier League and Serie A clubs this summer. Although Leipzig intends to introduce it, he needs to control salary and expenditure due to failure to obtain the 2025-26 European competition qualification and is financially cautious about the transaction. According to TheAthletic in November last year, Nkunku was dissatisfied with his situation at Chelsea, which priced him at 50 million euros, a cut from the £65 million asking price in January.

On June 24, the TA transfer column reported that Manchester United had contact, but the Red Devils finally turned to other forward targets, and Bayern and Barcelona also expressed their interest in the early stages of the transfer window. Nkunku's contract with Chelsea is 2029, with 14 goals in 43 games last season but only 9 starts in the Premier League.

In the summer window of 2023, Chelsea signed Nkunku, who reached an agreement six months ahead of schedule with a termination fee of more than 60 million euros. The knee injury and hamstring problems made him play in only 14 games in his debut season. Most of the starts in the 2024-25 season were concentrated in the Europa League, and they did not play in the final against Betis.

This summer, Chelsea signed Ipswich's Drapp for 30 million pounds, and introduced Brighton's Joao Pedro to further enrich the forward line. Nkunku joined Leipzig from Paris in 2019, won the German Cup in 172 games in four years, and was elected the best player in the Bundesliga in the 2021-22 season, tied for the scorer with 16 goals in 25 games the following year.