Chelsea news as Mauricio Pochettino awaits a big selection headache when Christopher Nkunku returns as best position not yet clear

Around 12 months go it was first reported that Chelsea were closing in on agreeing a deal to bring Christopher Nkunku to the club. Having spent the summer looking at forwards to make up for the Romelu Lukaku sized gap in the squad as well as prying for more efficiency, Nkunku was a player on their list.

He was coming towards a crossroads of sorts at RB Leipzig with his contract but, like Josko Gvardiol at the time, signed a new deal and extended his stay in Germany. It looked to end all the interest in him coming from around Europe, and there was plenty of that.

Since leaving Paris Saint-Germain in 2019 he has only enhanced his standing as a player and rose to become one of the most feared attackers on the continent. Even in his two years spent as a true first team option in France he was putting up impressive per90 numbers.

As someone coming into his late teens and early 20s he was not being afforded much gametime in a fearsome domestic attack including Neymar, Kylian Mbappe and Edinson Cavani or Angel Di Maria at the time but between 2017 and 2019 he still scored seven league goals with two assists – none from the spot – in just 10 starts and less than 1,800 minutes.

It was just a precursor for the output demon he would become in Germany. At a goals and assists rate of 0.57 per90 and 0.39 per90 he was already starting to show what he would become. However, despite the scoring and laying up its still not quite clear what he is.

Nkunku is a hybrid player, someone who during the past six months since his inevitable arrival at Stamford Bridge was clear, has been described as a replacement for Lukaku, a new Eden Hazard-type figure, someone who will be the Dele Alli of this team and slot behind Mauricio Pochettino’s striker but also sometimes play alongside them. Nkunku can reasonably come off the right and dovetail with Mykhailo Mudryk from the left, he can form a formidable partnership with Ben Chilwell but also Reece James at full-back.

He has covered all bases and Pochettino’s use of him in pre-season represented just that. Starting out as a substitute but coming on as a No.9, Nkunku was trialled behind Nicolas Jackson as well – less effective but it was pre-season, a tiny sample size and two rusty players that hadn’t played together before – but ended up mainly working from the left of a front four.

It is hard to read too much into just where he will be played because of the nature of Pochettino’s squad at the time. There were returning players from injury, new signings, Under-21 European Championship victors and losers dropped in at random times. It was trial and error and Nkunku’s chameleon-like qualities meant he was an easy one to move and shift around, bend to Pochettino’s will.

Because this is the thing with Nkunku, it doesn’t seem to really matter where he plays. Chelsea have spent years being gaslit into believing there was an ideal position for Kai Havertz that they simply weren’t finding. With Nkunku it appears, albeit without a body of evidence, that he will produce no matter where is played.

His time in Germany was spent mainly as a shadow striker or No.10 but also with games on the right wing. He is a capable false nine or actual No.9, though that doesn’t seem to be optimal. At Chelsea it looks like the slot for him will be from the left.

Pochettino now has a squad assembled that will have two players for every attacking position and that is based off Nkunku being the left-sided player along with Mudryk. There is flexibility between even those as Raheem Sterling shone via the left-wing against Burnley but started the season on fire from the right. Cole Palmer has already played as the No.10 and right-winger himself.

All of this and yet there is a general lack of rotation and tinkering from Pochettino, who has kept things pretty simple. It is Carney Chukwuemeka that is the fit behind the striker but there is inexperience to balance for him. Mudryk has built up his form on the left and might not prove to be very droppable when Nkunku eventually returns so the centre spot opens up again.

This all relies on the make-up of the midfield as well but what is relatively clear is just how open and many options Chelsea’s new star gives them. There are plenty of questions on paper, something that isn’t always a positive, but with Nkunku it doesn’t seem to matter. He has scored goals and provided for his teammates no matter where he plays. The most effective of those on paper is as a No.10, the initial role that many had picked out for him.

In Dele style it is easy to imagine him running beyond Armando Broja or Jackson and into space or picking up the pockets in front of the opposition defence. He is a player that can then threaten in numerous ways, be it dribbling or incisive passes, shooting or creating space for his fellow forwards.

When all the cards are down for Pochettino and the options are available at the current moment it would seem that Nkunku takes the slot on the left, a side he naturally drifted to albeit with pretty much a free role to do danger in pre-season, with Palmer knitting things together centrally and Sterling on the right. Mudryk would understandably have a lot to say about that.

It is something Pochettino cannot possibly know yet, even if he does have a picture of it in his head. What is more pressing right now, though, is finding a way to beat Arsenal without Nkunku. It is something that the Blues look closer to being able to do than they did a fortnight ago but would be a task made easier had Nkunku been around to play.

For now the dilemma will remain one in the minds of the supporters as anticipation builds towards a first competitive sighting of their new man. Where they end up looking on the pitch to see him is anyone’s guess.