Christopher Nkunku has had a good start to the season for Chelsea and in a recent interview he discussed his preferred position on the pitch.
Nkunku arrived at Chelsea last summer from German side RB Leipzig in a deal worth £52m but saw his debut campaign wrecked by injury as he made just 14 appearances in all competitions.
The 26-year-old had the summer off and impressed in pre-season, but despite this he’s found himself playing second fiddle to Nicolas Jackson in the Premier League.
Nkunku on his preferred position
When the France international joined the club it was expected that he would be the main man, but due to injuries that hasn’t been the case.
Nkunku is Chelsea’s top goalscorer this season with seven goals in all competitions, including his first hat-trick for the club in the 5-0 win against Barrow in the Carabao Cup.
However, in the Premier League it’s been a different story with Nkunku starting just one of Chelsea’s first seven games, which was against Manchester City on the opening day.
His only goal in the league was the winner against Bournemouth and despite being versatile across the forward line Enzo Maresca sees him as a striker.
Nkunku himself revealed in a recent interview that he doesn’t have a preferred position and just wants to be as close to the goal as possible.
“I feel the closest to the goal to find the dangerous space, after that, we must be able to adapt to different systems,” he told L’Equipe.
The most important thing is to adapt to the coach’s instructions. I’m hungry to play and show what I’m capable of.”
Nkunku is back in the France squad after his good start to the season and will be hoping to feature in the upcoming games against Israel and Belgium in the Nations League.
Of course he won’t be happy with the situation at Chelsea and will want to be first choice, but it’s a long season and there will be plenty of opportunities for him to force his way into Maresca’s strongest side.
