Newcastle United appear to have missed out on a gem.
Christopher Nkunku was previously a transfer target for the Magpies.
The Frenchman was linked with a move to St. James’ Park in 2019, with The Daily Mail claiming (print, 11 January 2019, pg 85) the Premier League side were keen.
Back then, Nkunku was at Paris Saint-Germain.
He was on the fringes of their first-team starting XI. A promising player, who just wasn’t quite getting the minutes he needed.
In the end, Nkunku left Paris to head for RB Leipzig in the summer of 2019.
He is now close to racking up 100 appearances for the Bundesliga outfit, and his time in Germany has been a success.
Nkunku is beginning to really prove himself as a versatile attacker capable of making things happen.
He’s started off the 2021/22 season in fine form and already has six goals to his name in eight appearances. He also has three assists.
He, of course, recently made headlines when he scored a hat-trick in the 6-3 thriller with Manchester City in the Champions League.
In total for Leipzig, he now has 18 goals and 30 assists in 92 games.
Jesse Marsch has been speaking about Nkunku ahead of their game with Club Brugge tonight, and he said of the 23-year-old (Goal): “Christopher has no weaknesses. He is young and still wants a lot more.
“It’s always a good thing when a young player listens to the things we say and also wants to implement them.
“Working with him is a lot of fun as he is really intelligent and has a lot of potential.”
Newcastle appear to have missed a trick
Nkunku is rapidly developing into a very good player with Leipzig.
The potential was there at PSG but he didn’t quite do enough to convince them to keep him.
While he may not be too much of a loss to PSG given the superstars they boast, Nkunku is very much Leipzig’s gain.
He may well be Newcastle’s loss though.
It’s unclear if a bid was ever tabled by the Magpies, but he is certainly looking like one that got away.
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