Chelsea attacker Christopher Nkunku has rejected a proposed loan move to Manchester United in the final few hours of the January transfer window.
Nkunku has struggled to live up to his eye-watering £52million price tag since joining Chelsea back in 2023, not helped by his injury woes over the last two seasons.
Having made just three starts in the Premier League since Enzo Maresca’s arrival, it’s understood the 27-year-old France international is deemed surplus to requirements at Stamford Bridge.
The likes of Bayern Munich and Manchester United have been credited with a strong interest in Nkunku this winter, with Chelsea making it clear to potential suitors that they are open to permanent offers for the former RB Leipzig star.
But according to The Athletic, both United and Bayern consider Nkunku’s value to be in the region of £40million, around £25m below the price Chelsea have been demanding for the forward.
It’s claimed United reached out to their Premier League rivals to discuss a potential loan on Sunday – but neither Nkunku or Chelsea were keen on a temporary deal and the Frenchman will be staying put.
Nkunku’s current contract with the Blues runs through to the summer of 2029.
However, the report states that Chelsea are willing to loan out Joao Felix before the transfer deadline, with AC Milan pursuing a six-month agreement for the Portugal international.
Super-agent Jorge Mendes caught a flight from Turin to London on Sunday night with a view to securing the attacking midfielder a switch to the San Siro.
Aston Villa had also been eyeing a deal for Felix but have decided to drop their interest after wrapping up loan agreements for Manchester United’s Marcus Rashford and Paris Saint-Germain’s Marco Asensio.
Reports emanating out of Italy state that the San Siro is the ‘only possible destination’ for Felix and the Portuguese now has his heart set on playing for the Serie A giants.
To view this video please enable JavaScript, and consider upgrading to a web
browser that
supports HTML5
video
Facing the media last week, Maresca suggested ‘fantastic players’ Nkunku and Felix were unfortunate to be battling it out for minutes with one of the league’s finest players in Cole Palmer.
‘The problem, unfortunately, for Joao and Christopher is that the manager plays most of the games with one attacking midfielder and that is Cole Palmer,’ the Chelsea head coach told reporters.
‘We have decided to play with an attacking midfielder in most of the games, so this is the reason why Joao and Christo struggle to get minutes – not for any different reasons because they are both fantastic players, fantastic guys who work well.
‘The reason why is only because most of the games I decide to play with one attacking midfielder in terms of balance. This is the reason why.’
Asked if this meant Felix and Nkunku would be allowed to leave, Maresca responded: ‘I am not saying that, I am not saying that.
‘I am saying that I like both but the reason why they struggle is because most of the time I play with one attacking midfielder.’
For more stories like this, check our sport page.
Follow Metro Sport for the latest news on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.