Ralf Rangnick criticises Christopher Nkunku for joining Chelsea
As quoted by Bild (h/t Metro), former RB Leipzig and Manchester United manager Ralf Rangnick has criticised Christopher Nkunku for joining Chelsea and also warned Julian Nagelsmann of taking the reins at Stamford Bridge.
All three people mentioned in the previous paragraph have a connection with Leipzig. Rangnick and Nagelsmann have managed there, while Nkunku is the current player.
But, the French international agreed to a deal to join Chelsea after the end of this season. It is a move that was agreed upon last year itself. Nagelsmann, on the other hand, is one of the candidates to become the next Blues manager after the sacking of Graham Potter two weeks ago.
Here’s what Rangnick said when asked about Nkunku’s decision to join Chelsea and sending a warning to Nagelsmann (h/t Metro):
“I’m also thinking of a player whose arrival at RB Leipzig I was a little bit involved in: Christopher Nkunku.
“For me, one of the best attacking midfielders currently available and who, in my opinion, decided to move to Chelsea far too early.
“Can you imagine that such an outstanding player comes to a club that is in the state Chelsea are in at the moment?
“Personally, this hurts my heart. If I were his advisor or his father, I would be very worried right now.
“At the moment, no matter who comes as a coach, you can’t really recommend anyone to go there. The very first thing to do is establish some sort of strategy and reduce the squad to a reasonable size that any coach can work with [warning to Nagelsmann].”
Although it is understandable what Rangnick is trying to say, if people stop joining a club that is going through a crisis, we will always have a fixed set of clubs going through troubled times all our lives.
Nkunku has been exceptional for Leipzig in the past 18-24 months. Since the start of last season, the 25-year-old has scored 32 goals and assisted 18 in 53 Bundesliga appearances. At the age he is in, he looks set to do well for an elite club like Chelsea, irrespective of its current predicament.
As bad as things look for the Blues at the moment, they might be one fantastic managerial appointment away from getting things right. Nagelsmann has a fantastic track record in German football. Bayern Munich sacked him last month and things have gone downhill there since then.
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He could be a great candidate for reviving things at Stamford Bridge. One of the first jobs would be to trim a bloated squad due to the crazy number of signings made in the last two transfer windows.