Chelsea forward Christopher Nkunku has been ‘absolutely and utterly invisible’ ever since he joined the Premier League club, it has been claimed.
Much was expected of the France international following his £52m move from RB Leipzig in 2023 but Nkunku has endured two underwhelming seasons at Stamford Bridge.
The previous Bundesliga Player of the Season was limited to only 14 appearances last term because of injury issues and has scored just three Premier League goals thus far this campaign.
Enzo Maresca has often neglected Nkunku within the Premier League but offered the Frenchman a rare start in Sunday’s 1-0 defeat to Arsenal.
Nkunku did not take his likelihood against the Gunners, nonetheless, struggling to make an impact before being subbed off as Chelsea chased an equaliser.
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Liverpool legend Steve Nicol said Nkunku was ‘absolutely and utterly invisible’ through the game and claimed he had been that way for just about all of his Chelsea profession.
‘Arsenal were bang average, let’s be honest, but they were still way higher than Chelsea,’ he said on ESPN.
‘You’ve got to ask yourself, what are Chelsea trying to realize with that sort of performance? It doesn’t appear to be they’re attempting to create probabilities or goals.
‘Jadon Sancho was the Jadon Sancho we saw at Manchester United – what happened to the Jadon Sancho we saw at Borussia Dortmund?
‘Nkunku was absolutely and utterly invisible. In reality, he’s been invisible since he went to Chelsea. No less than [Pedro] Neto was running around and looked interested.
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‘Chelsea appear to be they’re going nowhere, they may be fourth at once but in the event that they keep performing like that, they are going to drop out of the Champions League places.’
Paul Merson was also underwhelmed by Nkunku’s performance against Arsenal but said he ‘felt sorry’ for the Chelsea star as he believes he’s being played out of position.
‘Christopher Nkunku’s position will not be on the wing,’ Merson told Sky Sports. ‘I feel sorry for him.
‘I like him, I believe he’s a superb player. He’s one which plays behind the centre-forward.
‘He’s an intelligent footballer, connects things, but the issue is Palmer’s been outstanding.
‘I don’t think Chelsea were foreseeing Palmer being nearly as good as what he was hence why they bought Nkunku for loads of money.’
Chelsea looked set to rival Liverpool for the Premier League title earlier within the season, impressing under latest boss Maresca.
Maresca warned that level of performance wouldn’t proceed and that has proved to be the case, with Chelsea now in an enormous battle simply to qualify for the Champions League.
‘Upset is an understatement,’ ex-Chelsea defender Frank Leboeuf added. ‘There was nothing from them today [against Arsenal].
‘That they had one likelihood, we saw nothing, we saw no response. It was empty, that they had no ideas.
‘I’m so disenchanted since it’s a giant game, a derby, and we got nothing. That’s sad for the fans.’
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