Chelsea FC midfielder Christopher Nkunku has been named to the bench.
Chelsea have named their starting lineup for the 2023-2024 English Premier League Round 17 home match against Sheffield United at Stamford Bridge in London, England, on Sunday (Sept. 17).
Chelsea will start the match with Jorginho-Petrovic-Axel Dias-Silva-Thiago Silva-Benoit Badiazzil-Rubin Colwill-Connor Gallagher-Moises Caicedo-Rahim Sterling-Cole Palmer-Mihailo Mudric-Nicolas Jackson. The big surprise of the day is the inclusion of Nkunku on the substitutes’ bench.
After making his professional debut for Paris Saint-Germain in 2015, Nkunku joined Chelsea from German Bundesliga club RB Leipzig.
At Leipzig, Nkunku was dubbed an “attacking point producer. In 172 career appearances, he scored 70 goals and provided 56 assists, making him an integral part of the team.
After scoring 23 goals and providing nine assists in 36 games last season, Nkunku was interested by Chelsea and donned the blue jersey ahead of this season. The transfer fee alone was €66 million (approximately $93.9 billion).
From preseason, Nkunkwo had fans excited. He came on as a substitute in the first game and scored. He also scored against Fulham FC and Brighton & Hove Albion, showing that he didn’t need an adjustment period.
The joy was short-lived. Nkunku started the final game of preseason against Borussia Dortmund and was replaced by Mudrick in the 20th minute due to injury.
At the time, it was reported that Nkunkwo’s scans were positive, but he was later diagnosed with a damaged meniscus that would require surgery.
As time passed, Chelsea manager Mauricio Pochettino revealed that Nkunku was training with a view to a Round 13 clash with Newcastle United, but his return seemed to be in jeopardy as he was left out of the squad altogether for four games.
However, it now appears that Nkunkwo will make his debut in a Chelsea shirt. Nkunkwo will start from the bench, but will likely come into the game if the strikers or attacking midfielders are not performing well.
Chelsea are currently in 12th place in the league with five wins, four draws, and seven losses. Fans are hoping that Nkunkwo can come in and put the finishing touches on the win. All eyes will be on Nkunkwo to start.
Meanwhile, Sheffield have named a best eleven of Wes Fordringham-Jayden Bogle-Anel Ahmedozic-Austin Trusty-Max Lowe-Vinicius Souza-James McAteer-Gustavo Hamer-Brooks-Cameron Archer-Oliver McBurnie.