Christopher Nkunku's ex-coach on why the RB Leipzig forward has become the hottest property in European football

AC Milan, Arsenal, Chelsea, Manchester United and Manchester City - who he scored a hat-trick against at the Etihad Stadium back in September - have all been linked with Nkunku in recent weeks. He is certain to be the subject of some multi-million pound bids from across the continent during the summer.

And no wonder. The 24-year-old has been on target on no fewer than 30 occasions in 46 club games so far in the 2021/22 campaign and has also provided 20 assists into the bargain. Only Robert Lewandowski of Bayern Munich has been directly involved in more goals in the German top flight this term.

It has been quite a rise to prominence for a footballer who had never managed to get into double figures in the scoring charts in his six previous seasons in the senior game. 

Yet, Nkunku, who is set to start for Leipzig in the first leg of their Europa League semi-final double header against Rangers in the Red Bull Arena on Thursday night, is no overnight success story. His enormous potential has been known about in his native France for a long time.

He made his debut for Paris Saint-Germain aged just 18 back in 2015 when he replaced Lucas Moura in a Champions League group game against Shakhtar Donetsk and went on, albeit as a squad player, to help them win Ligue 1 three times, the Coupe de France twice and the Coupe de la Ligue twice.

Sylvain Ripoll, the France Under-21 manager, worked with the attacking midfielder cum forward early in his career and has been delighted, but in no way surprised, to see his former protégé flourish in the past nine months.

Ripoll recalled how Nkunku had struggled to get a regular start ahead of the likes of Edinson Cavani, Angel Di Maria, Zlatan Ibrahimovic, Kylian Mbappe, Moura and Neymar during his spell at the Parc des Princes.

“Christopher was at Paris Saint-Germain for many years,” he said. “Sometimes he was in the team there, sometimes he was not. He didn’t play a lot of games for us as a result. In fact, he only played six times for us. 

“But it is very difficult for young players at Paris Saint-Germain because they have so many players who are of international standard. That was his reality. That was the reason that he chose to leave and go to Leipzig.”

Nkunku moved to Saxony in a €13m transfer in 2019 in a bid to get more game time. He has been a regular starter under Julien Nagelsmann, Jesse Marsch and Domenico Tedesco since. But this season he has taken his game to another level. “Since he has moved to Germany he has played a lot of football and has developed and progressed,” said Ripoll.

Ripoll fully expects his countryman, who scored both goals in the 2-0 quarter-final triumph over Atalanta in Italy last week that completed a 3-1 aggregate victory for Leipzig, to give James Tavernier, Connor Goldson, Calvin Bassey and Borna Barisic a torrid time on Thursday evening.  

“One of Christopher’s best qualities is his capacity to be technical with the ball at speed,” he said. “He has the ability to do a lot of things because of that. He can create goals and he can score them as well. He is very dynamic, he is fast over five or six metres and he is good in possession. These are very good abilities for a forward.

“One of the other great things about Christopher is that he can play in a number of positions in the team. He can play as a striker, he can play out wide, he can play in midfield. That is all because of his good technique.”

France manager Didier Deschamps handed Nkunku, who is of Congolese descent, his international debut last month when he started him up front alongside Olivier Giroud and Antoine Griezmann in a friendly against the Ivory Coast in Marseille which his side won 2-1. He then played him in a 5-0 triumph over South Africa in Villeneuve-d’Ascq four days later.

The Leipzig man will now be hoping to be included in the squad for the World Cup finals in Qatar in November. Ripoll thinks he has a chance of earning more caps if he continues to excel for his club.

“Only Didier Deschamps can say what his future with the French national team will be,” said Ripoll. “But he has great potential and he has been rewarded for his performances by being called up to the full side. If he maintains the form he has been producing for Leipzig this season then he has the ability to remain involved.

“It has been a big season for him. He has played a lot of games in both the Bundesliga and in Europe and what is more he has played very well. His play has been recognised with a call up to the national team. I hope for him that he manages to keep it going.”

Rangers recorded a famous win on the last occasion they travelled to Germany back in February - they romped to a 4-2 triumph over Borussia Dortmund in the Westfalenstadion in the first leg of the knockout round play-off – and will be looking to produce a repeat of that display on Thursday night. 

But one of Nkunku’s best games this season came against the same team at the same venue at the start of this month - he scored one goal and set up three others in an emphatic 4-1 victory over the second-placed side in the Bundesliga.

Giovanni van Bronckhorst will need to ensure that his charges are well aware of the threat that Christopher Nkunku poses if Rangers are to reach the fifth European final in their 150 year history.