Arsenal are expected to reignite their interest in Christopher Nkunku after making an approach for the Chelsea forward in January, according to reports in France.
Nkunku joined Chelsea in a £52 million deal from RB Leipzig in 2023 but his first season at Stamford Bridge was disrupted by knee, hip and hamstring injuries.
The 27-year-old has been fully fit this term, however, he has struggled to secure a regular role under Enzo Maresca, starting just nine games in the Premier League.
According to RMC Sport, Nkunku is now considering his future at Chelsea and is keen to play for a club who are guaranteed to play in the Champions League next season.
The report claims that both Arsenal and Bayern Munich enquired about signing Nkunku in the January transfer window and are expected to make a fresh move for the France international this summer.
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Arsenal were in the market for a new striker but opted not to sign anyone during the January window after their £40m offer for Aston Villa’s Ollie Watkins was rejected.
It’s understood that the Gunners now have Sporting CP’s Viktor Gyokeres and RB Leipzig’s Benjamin Sesko at the top of their striker shortlist ahead of the summer window.
Arsenal are also in pole position to complete a €60 million (£51m) deal to sign Real Sociedad midfielder Martin Zubimendi.
Nkunku, meanwhile, was dropped from Chelsea’s squad for their 2-1 win against Fulham last weekend.
‘Since day one, I just tried to do my best for the club and every decision I take is thinking about the best for the club,’ Maresca said this week.
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‘I know Christo cost a lot of money and Ty [Tyrique George] is from the academy but I have to make these decisions.’
Asked how Nkunku has responded to that setback, Maresca said: ‘He has been good in the last week when he was out.
‘We need to decide one or two players out and to give some of the young players a chance to be with us. It was just because of that but now he is back in the squad. He is training well.
‘Probably in this moment, if he is in the squad, one offensive player has to be out for the Fulham game and that probably would have been Tyrique.’
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