The Blues’ groundwork on a deal to land Christopher Nkunku next year is already well underway, including the forward undergoing medical checks in Germany with an orthopedist from Chelsea present.

The France international enjoyed a breakout campaign last season, scoring 35 goals and setting up 20 more in 52 appearances in all competitions during a sensational year for Leipzig that earned him the Bundesliga Player of the Year award.

And things have escalated quickly. David Ornstein of The Atheltic has reported that Nkunku has ‘signed a pre-contract agreement with the west Londoners’.

Ornstein has also said that the Premier League side have committed to paying their Bundesliga counterparts a price in excess of the 24-year-old’s €60million release clause.

Chelsea are in urgent need of a striker with Timo Werner and Romelu Lukaku having returned to Leipzig and Inter respectively, while Kai Havertz has struggled as a lone forward.

But how would Christopher Nkunku fit in at Stamford Bridge? Planet Football have crunched the numbers to assess whether Nkunku would represent an upgrade on Chelsea’s forward line.

Note: We’ve compared Nkunku’s 2021-22 Bundesliga stats to the corresponding Premier League numbers of Chelsea’s current forwards, with Raheem Sterling and Armando Broja’s stats coming from their times at Manchester City and Southampton respectively. 

Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang’s stats are from Barcelona rather than Arsenal.

Goals:
Christopher Nkunku – 20
Raheem Sterling – 13
Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang – 11
Kai Havertz – 8
Christian Pulisic – 6
Armando Broja – 6
Hakim Ziyech – 4

Assists:
Christopher Nkunku – 13
Raheem Sterling – 5
Kai Havertz – 3
Hakim Ziyech – 3
Christian Pulisic – 2
Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang – 1
Armando Broja – 0

Minutes per goal:
Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang – 99.3
Christopher Nkunku – 136.8
Raheem Sterling – 163.6
Kai Havertz – 227.0
Christian Pulisic – 214.3
Hakim Ziyech – 329.3
Armando Broja – 330.2

Minutes per goal or assist:
Christopher Nkunku – 82.9
Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang – 91.0
Raheem Sterling – 118.1
Christian Pulisic – 160.8
Kai Havertz – 165.1
Hakim Ziyech – 188.1
Armando Broja – 330.2

Chances created per 90 minutes:
Christopher Nkunku – 2.1
Hakim Ziyech – 2.1
Raheem Sterling – 1.8
Christian Pulisic – 1
Kai Havertz – 1
Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang – 0.7
Armando Broja – 0.5

Successful dribbles per 90 minutes (success rate):
Christopher Nkunku – 2.2 (66.6%)
Raheem Sterling – 2.2 (46.7%)
Hakim Ziyech – 1.9 (43.2%)
Christian Pulisic – 1.7 (42.5%)
Kai Havertz – 0.9 (42.9%)
Pierre-Emerick Auabmeyang – 0.3 (60%)
Armando Broja – 1.5 (46.9%)