Xabi Alonso in ‘conversation’ with Chelsea ‘behind very closed doors’ over signing £36m striker – report | OneFootball

Chelsea could bring Christopher Nkunku back to Stamford Bridge because of Xabi Alonso’s wishes, according to a report.

Nkunku joined Chelsea from RB Leipzig in the summer of 2023 for £52million and became then-Blues manager Mauricio Pochettino’s first signing for the London club.

The France international striker arrived at Chelsea as a three-time Ligue 1 winner with Paris Saint-Germain.

Nkunku was also named Bundesliga player of the season and German PFA player of the season in 2021/22 and won the DFB-Pokal twice with Leipzig.

The striker left Chelsea for AC Milan in the summer of 2025 after winning the Conference League and the FIFA Club World Cup with the Blues.

During his time at Chelsea, Nkunku scored 18 goals and gave five assists in 62 appearances.

AC Milan paid Chelsea £36million for Nkunku last summer and would have expected the Frenchman to be a success at San Siro.

Nkunku, though, was able to score only eight goals and provide just three assists in 35 matches in all competitions for Milan.

The Frenchman played the majority of his matches for Milan as a striker.

Nkunku’s current contract with Milan runs until the summer of 2030, but incoming Chelsea manager Xabi Alonso is said to be keen on bringing him back to Stamford Bridge.

Christopher Nkunku linked with Chelsea return under Xabi Alonso

According to The Chelsea Forum, Alonso and Chelse owners, BlueCo, are in talks over a potential move to re-sign Nkunku in the summer of 2026.

The account, which has almost 265,000 followers on X, has outlined why Nkunku would be a good signing for Chelsea under Alonso.

The Chelsea Forum has posted on X: “EXCL | Nkunku’s second Chelsea chapter is more realistic than anyone wants to admit, and it comes down to one brutal piece of arithmetic.

“AC Milan want to move Nkunku on for around €40M, less than two seasons after Chelsea sold him to them.

“Chelsea paid £52M for him originally. Sold him to Milan for roughly £36M. Could potentially buy him back for less than that.

“Alonso’s system, high pressing, dynamic front three rotating constantly, is the exact environment where Nkunku’s career-best version emerges.

“He was a different player at Leipzig under exactly this kind of structure.

“His Chelsea failure happened under managers who never fully integrated him or managed his physical load correctly.

“The obstacle isn’t football. It’s optics.

“BlueCo bringing back a player they sold as a failure, two years later, is a PR headache they haven’t resolved internally.

“Whether Alonso can override that reluctance with tactical conviction is the conversation happening right now.

“Behind very closed doors. #Chelsea #CFC”

While it remains to be seen if Chelsea make a move for Nkunku, CalcioMercato reported on May 22 that Milan plan to keep the striker.

The Italian news outlet reported that, in April, the striker’s ‘agent was informed of the intention to sell’ this summer, but ‘ thanks to hard work and determination, things have changed’.

However, since that report emerged, Massimiliano Allegri has been sacked as the AC Milan manager.

The Italian club have yet to appoint a replacement for Allegri.