Manchester United will not sign Christopher Nkunku on deadline day with the Frenchman never intending to leave Chelsea.
Transfer guru Fabrizio Romano confirmed reports surfacing earlier in the day from Sky Sports Premier League that Nkunku would not make a late switch to Old Trafford, closing off one of many January sagas involving the Red Devils and potential forward reinforcements.
Romano posted on X that “Christopher Nkunku never had any intention to leave Chelsea on loan in January.
“The only possibility was permanent move but never got close with Bayern or Man United despite interest. Chelsea always asked for £65/70m, no movements today.”
United’s attacking woes were laid bare over the weekend, with Marcus Rashford completing a loan move to Aston Villa as Ruben Amorim fielded a starting XI without a single natural striker.
Antony turning in an MVP performance on his debut for Real Betis, who he joined on loan in January, just rubbed salt in the wounds.
Nkunku, who at one point was said to be actively pushing for a move to United, is one of many forwards the club have been linked with in this transfer window.
But the 27-year-old now joins Bayern Munich youngster Mathys Tel on the list of exciting signings which will never materialise, after it was reported yesterday that talks with the German giants broke down.
A potential silver lining for United fans is that Alejandro Garnacho now seems unlikely to join Chelsea this month, as it was expected that Nkunku would be involved in any such deal.
But it does seem to leave Amorim desperately understaffed in the attacking department with just hours to go before the window slams shut.
On current form neither Rasmus Hojlund nor Joshua Zirkzee are at the level required to lead the United line, while Garnacho’s poor finishing means he offers no consistent goal threat.
Amorim will doubtless be dreading facing the rest of the season with his current motley crew of forward options, but there seems to be little movement towards any late signings so far today.
Feature image Mike Hewitt via Getty Images
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Joe Ponting
Joe has spent more than half his life writing about football and all of it following United. As a child he told a doctor his name was ‘Paul Scholes’, but could never pick a pass like him no matter how much he tried.
