“The coach had a different idea” – £50m attacker on why his dream Chelsea move turned into a nightmare | OneFootball

Christopher Nkunku’s time at Chelsea didn’t go as anyone hoped, and his subsequent spell at Milan didn’t go much better.

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Christopher Nkunku is a player who was admired for a long time across Europe, and Chelsea fans were incredibly excited when their club agreed a deal to sign him the following summer.

Unfortunately, after a promising preseason where it looked like he was going to be the key man for the Blues in attack, a bad knee injury picked up in the final preseason friendly ruled him out for several months. Even once he returned from that problem, countless smaller issues continually held him back.

He wasn’t able to force his way into the team, and was sold a couple of years later. Speaking to TransferMarket, the Frenchman looked at where it all went wrong.

“Timing” ruined attacker’s Premier League move

Christopher Nkunku meets Chelsea fans outside Stamford Bridge (Photo by Ryan Pierse/Getty Images)

“I think it was about timing, because when I arrived, everything was going well,” said Nkunku when asked why his dream move had turned into a disaster almost as soon as it was completed.

“But the thing is, I had surgery, and it was my first time, and he [Pochettino] arrived at the end of the pre-season. So after that, I wanted to come back fast, and I didn’t listen to my body because you’re young and you want to come back fast and play and train with the squad. After that, I had a lot of small injuries, like muscle injuries or an ankle injury.”

“I came back well for the second season… I had a good pre-season. But I think the head coach at the time [Enzo Maresca] had a different idea.”

“So this is the tactics of the new head coach, and you cant control that. And he comes with what he saw in the first season, and he has his preferred players also. So it was a mix of everything.”

He’s finally returned to RB Leipzig where he had great success – let’s hope it works out better for him there.