CHELSEA and RB Leipzig have an agreement in principle for Christopher Nkunku, according to reports.
The 24-year-old France star has a release clause of around £53million in his contract.
But Chelsea will not trigger that clause, according to Fabrizio Romano.
Nevertheless, the two clubs do have a verbal agreement in place for Nkunku to head to Stamford Bridge at the end of the campaign.
Romano reports the Blues “have an agreement with RB Leipzig for a different kind of payment”, rather than triggering his release clause.
All that’s left on the club side of things is to get the deal officially over the line.
There is no hold up on the player side, with Nkunku thought to be happy to join the Blues.
Chelsea and RB Leipzig agreed a deal for the talented attacker back in September.
He even underwent a medical ahead of a proposed move next summer.
Meanwhile, German outlet SportBild Oliver Mintzlaff’s departure as Leipzig CEO won’t affect the deal.
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Mintzlaff resigned from his role last week, but the agreement with Chelsea for Nkunku remains in place.
He is said to have promised Nkunku that he could leave if the right offer came in for him.
Nkunku has attracted interest from a number of Europe’s top clubs, including Paris Saint-Germain.
That’s after he scored 35 goals in 52 appearances for Leipzig last season.
He’s carried that form into this campaign too, with 17 goals in 22 games so far in all competitions.
SunSport exclusively revealed last month that Liverpool had sent scouts to watch Nkunku in case his move to Chelsea broke down.
But Blues owner Todd Boehly is desperate to sign the Frenchman, having regularly met Mintzlaff for coffee in London.
The Blues are also after Nkunku’s Leipzig team-mate, centre-back Josko Gvardiol.
