Chelsea name their price as outstanding first Man Utd signing under Amorim gathers serious pace

Manchester United have been told that Chelsea will not stand in their way over a shock move for Christopher Nkunku amid claims Todd Boehly has laid down one demand that must be met if a first Red Devils deal under Ruben Amorim is to go through.

The France forward moved to Stamford Bridge in a high-profile move from RB Leipzig in summer 2023, but saw much of his first season in London ravaged by injury. Limited to just 14 appearances and three goals across his debut campaign, Nkunku rarely got chance to show Chelsea just how good he could be following his £52m (€60m, $66.6m) transfer.

However, despite starting the new season in solid form and, most most importantly, back to full fitness, the 99-goal forward has been unable to convince Enzo Maresca he is worthy of regular Premier League football at Stamford Bridge. The new Italian manager has been handling his bloated squad by essentially dividing them into two groups; one who plays in the Premier League and the others who are utilised in the cups.

And while there are of course cross-overs between the two, most of Nkunku‘s starts for Chelsea have come in Europe.

And that failure so far to convince the Blues to use him more prominantly led to Sky Germany reporting over the weekend that the player is unhappy with his situation and could ask to leave Stamford Bridge if his situation does not change.

L’Equipe then took that a step further by suggesting Manchester United were keeping a close eye on the situation and were keen to make the statement signing of the 99-goal frontman if the opportunity arose.

Now, as per the Daily Telegraph, Chelsea have given Nkunku the green light to leave Stamford Bridge if he remains unhappy and with Boehly willing to sanction his sale if United give the Blues their full £52m investment back on his signing.

READ MORE ~ Ruben Amorim cleared to make big Man Utd signing as clarity arrives over January transfer budget

What has gone wrong for Nkunku and can Man Utd afford him?

During his time at Stamford Bridge, Nkunku has made just 30 appearances for the club, scoring 13 goals. Ten of those have arrived this season from 16 appearances, though just one of those has come in the Premier League – during September’s 1-0 win at Bournemouth.

Indeed, he has been limited to just 20 appearances in the Premier League for the Blues, though only three have been starts, with the other 17 coming off the bench.

With Cole Palmer occupying his best position and proving an immovable object, Nkunku has also been unable to dislodge Nicolas Jackson, who also rarely gets taken off or dropped and remains the preferred centre forward option for the Maresca.

As a result, it’s little surprise to see reports bubbling to the surface about the player’s unhappiness, though it remains to be seen if Amorim decides to spend what looks likely to be the bulk of his January budget on another forward player.

Indeed, the new United boss has been told he does have money to spend – and around £60m if reports on Monday are accurate – meaning a deal for Nkunku could seemingly go through were he to pursue it.

But there is a feeling that United may need to prioritise elsewhere, especially if Amorim looks to transform United in the 3-4-3 formation he tends to prefer. With that in mind, would there be a place for him in the United attack, or more to the point, would his signing be considered essential for Amorim right now?

Chelsea could see Osimhen plan hijacked / Real Madrid to stun Man Utd 

Were Chelsea to sell Nkunku, the school of thought would be that they would use the money to try and push through the signing of long-term target Victor Osimhen.

The Nigerian narrowly slipped the net over the summer window, with the Napoli man ultimately forced into a loan move to Galatasaray, where he has since scored eight times in nine games.

Links with Chelsea persist and while a January move cannot be ruled out, reports now claim Newcastle are being offered the chance to hijack the transfer amid suggestions they are planning for life after Alexander Isak.

Meanwhile, with it widely believed that Amorim will first look to strengthen his defence at Old Trafford, one potential planned first signing in Jonathan Tah is now under serious threat from Real Madrid.

Los Blancos have recently lost Eder Militao to a season-ending ACL, leaving Carlo Ancelotti scrambling around for a replacement.

And with Tah falling out of contract next summer, he appears to have moved top of their list – much to the frustration of United, who were believed to be chasing a deal themselves.

Elsewhere, United are reported to be keeping up their pursuit of a Norwegian midfielder compared to Martin Odegaard after becoming convinced he would be an ideal fit for Amorim’s style.

Nkunku’s involvement with Chelsea 

Nkunku will be rightly feeling disappointed by his lack of involvement in Maresca’s Premier League line-ups this season, being involved in just 15.6% of their minutes played across the competition this season.

In the Conference League, that stands at 81.8%, where he has started five out of five games in Europe’s third-tier competition so far.

It’s also two from two in the Carabao Cup, though Chelsea’s exit at the fourth-round stage at Newcastle means he can no longer look to that for further appearances.