Maresca’s ‘unnecessary signing’ is becoming another Nkunku for Chelsea

Chelsea have built a team that most clubs would kill for over the last few years.

Players like Moises Caicedo, Cole Palmer, Marc Cucurella, Levi Colwill, Wesley Fofana and Reece James, for example, could form the core of a Premier League title-winning team.

However, while the Blues have had a lot of success when it comes to team building, they have also made more than their fair share of mistakes.

One of those mistakes was that of Christopher Nkunku, and as things stand, one of Enzo Maresca’s signings appears at risk of following in the Frenchman’s footsteps at Chelsea.

How Nkunku performed at Chelsea

Chelsea paid RB Leipzig a fairly hefty fee of £52 million in the summer of 2023 for Nkunku, and while such a fee now seems ridiculous, it seemed more than fair at the time.

After all, across the 21/22 and 22/23 seasons, the 28-year-old racked up an incredible total of 58 goals and 29 assists in 88 appearances, for a total of 7006 minutes.

In other words, he averaged a goal every 1.01 games, or every 80.52 minutes over a two-year period, which is ridiculous and explains why the west Londoners were so keen to sign him.

Sadly, the Stamford Bridge faithful will never see this version of the Frenchman.

His bad luck started straight away, when during a pre-season friendly against Borussia Dortmund he suffered a knee injury which required surgery and kept him out until the end of November.

The Lagny-sur-Marne-born ace was sidelined eight times during his two years at Chelsea, which saw him miss 70 games in all competitions.

Unfortunately, he hasn’t had much luck on the pitch either, as by the time he left for AC Milan this summer, he had scored just 18 goals and provided five assists in 62 appearances, ten of which were in the Conference League.

Overall, Nkunku seemed like a great signing for Chelsea, but he ultimately failed, and if he doesn’t improve quickly, one of Maresca’s summer signings could go the same way.

I’m next

As things stand, it would be fair to say that of Chelsea’s summer signings, the two who seem to be settling in best are Joao Pedro and Alejandro Garnacho.

However, while Liam Delap and Jorrel Hato have been disappointing, it is Jamie Gittens who is most at risk of becoming another Nkunku.

After all, the Englishman and the circumstances of his move seem eerily similar to those of the Frenchman.

For example, the Blues signed him from a top Bundesliga side, Dortmund, after a pretty impressive campaign.

In 49 games for the German giant, the Reading-born dynamo has racked up 17 goals and even scored against Bayern Munich in the league and Real Madrid in the Champions League.

This ability to perform on the biggest stages and generally look threatening whenever he was on the ball led Sky Sports’ Dougie Critchley to even describe him as “the best left winger in England” at one point.

Along with their similar backgrounds, the 21-year-old is also struggling to make an impact for the west Londoners.

For example, in 20 appearances totaling 921 minutes, the summer signing scored one goal and provided five assists, which translates to one goal every 3.33 games, or every 153.5 minutes.

Worse still, three of those goals came in the League Cup, and the league’s two came against newly promoted Burnley and Leeds United.

Additionally, in the match against League One Cardiff City, he looked desperate and hung on for 66 minutes, failing to get a shot on target and failing 100% of his dribbles.

Ultimately, with Gittens’ poor performance so far this season, it’s hard to disagree with one analyst’s opinion that he’s been an “unnecessary signing.”

Therefore, if he does not improve quickly, there is every chance that he will become Chelsea’s next Nkunku.

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