Chelsea were left with a big hole to fill in their team when first-choice centre-forward Nicolas Jackson suffered a muscular injury in February that was set to rule him out for up to eight weeks.
The Senegal international had scored nine goals and provided five assists in 22 Premier League starts this season, prior to that injury, and the Blues have missed his quality at the top end of the pitch in the subsequent weeks.
Enzo Maresca has had to find a solution to the number nine problem in recent weeks and has turned to France international Christopher Nkunku.
The French forward, who was signed for £52m from RB Leipzig in 2023, has only managed one goal and one assist in eight matches in all competitions since Jackson’s injury.
Chelsea's highest earners
Nkunku has, simply, not done enough to justify the £52m transfer fee or his reported wages of £195k-per-week, as he has managed just three goals and two assists in 25 Premier League games this season.
The former Leipzig star has severely underperformed in comparison to Jackson, who has scored more goals and provided more assists despite earning almost £100k less per week.
Reece James
£250k
Wesley Fofana
£215k
Christopher Nkunku
£195k
Enzo Fernandez
£180k
Marc Cucurella
£175k
Pedro Neto
£160k
Moises Caicedo
£150k
Cole Palmer
£130k
Tosin Adarabioyo
£100k
Nicolas Jackson
£100k
As you can see in the table above, Nkunku earns more than the likes of Cole Palmer, Jackson, and Pedro Neto, despite contributing less on the pitch in the top-flight.
He is not the only player on that list who has failed to live up to expectations, however, as Maresca must also ditch Wesley Fofana, who earns even more than the Frenchman, in the summer.
Why Chelsea should ditch Wesley Fofana
The Blues should brutally bin the France international in the summer transfer window as he has not proven himself to be a reliable figure for the club.
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Chelsea swooped to sign Fofana for a staggering £75m from Premier League rivals Leicester City in the summer of 2022, but he has only made 35 appearances for the first-team to date.
Injuries have plagued his career at Stamford Bridge. However, that should not be used as an excuse for the recruitment team because the centre-back missed 63 games through injury in the 2021/22 campaign, 14 in the 2020/21 season, and 26 the year before that.
Former Real Madrid and Inter star Wesley Sneijder once claimed Fofana was a “waste of money” by Chelsea, and it is hard to argue with that assessment at this moment in time.
Injuries
2
1
1
Games missed
26
51
18
Premier League appearances
17
0
14
Premier League clean sheets
2
0
1
Error led to shot
0
0
2
Error led to goal
2
0
0
As you can see in the table above, the centre-back has made more errors that have led to shots or goals for the opposition than he has contributed to clean sheets in the top flight during his Chelsea career.
This suggests that the Blues spent £75m on an injury-prone and error-prone central defender, despite his injury record at Leicester warning them against such a big-money move.
Ultimately, Chelsea are reportedly paying Fofana a significant wage – even more than Nkunku and the likes of Palmer and Jackson – and he has not been able to pay them back with quality performances, or reliable availability, in return.
This is why Maresca must finally part ways with the flop in the summer transfer window, so that his exit can open up the space in the squad for Chelsea to recruit a centre-back who can offer more reliability – with performances and fitness.
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