Dean Saunders has suggested Christopher Nkunku should leave Chelsea to become a first-team regular.
Nkunku joined the Blues from RB Leipzig last summer after a glorious spell with the German club, during which he scored 70 goals and provided 56 assists in 172 appearances over four years.
A series of injury problems limited Nkunku to just 14 appearances for Chelsea in all competitions last season, scoring three goals.
Nkunku is back on form and already has seven goals to his name in 11 appearances in all competitions this season.
However, most of the France international’s success has come in cup competitions, limited to just 126 minutes in seven Premier League games, with one goal.
Nkunku scored for France in their 4-1 win over Israel in the UEFA Nations League on Thursday.
Does Christopher Nkunku need to leave Chelsea?
Speaking in the context of the players his former side Aston Villa could be poaching from bigger clubs, Saunders believes Nkunku is in a no-win situation at Stamford Bridge.
“It’s probably not realistic for Villa to sign Curtis Jones or Harvey Elliott, but I was trying to set an example. I’m looking at clubs that have really good players who don’t get a game,” Saunders said Bonus code bets.
“Chelsea, I’ve lost count of how many players they have, but not all of them can make the team. Not only are they the best players in the country they come from, they treat them like the best in that country. They have also been the best players in the clubs where they were.
“It’s very difficult for them to sit on the bench for five or six games and not get a game. I’ve been a manager and that’s where you start to have problems.”
He added: “They (the problems) started when they played in the League Cup (against Barrow). Nkunku scored a hat-trick. The manager left Nicolas Jackson out of the team, he rest and then put on Nkunku who scored three. Then when Chelsea play Brighton on Sunday, he has to call Nkunku and say “sorry, I’m leaving you out, I’ll put Nicolas Jackson back on”.
“At that point, Nkunku knows that whatever he does, I’m not going to start opposite Jackson. With six games played, I don’t see a future at the club. As long as the manager keeps winning games, he has some power. But if you lose two or three, the players in that chelsea dressing room start to have a voice, that’s when they turn against you and that’s the problem when you have too many players.
“Well, back to your point. I’m sure there are players at Chelsea you could get out of this. Arsenal only pay a third of Raheem Sterling’s salary and Chelsea pay the rest. You can probably get a deal with Chelsea right now.”
