Christopher Nkunku Returns to Leipzig with Leadership Role
Back from Chelsea, Nkunku is being asked to fill the leadership void left by Yan Diomande and Peter Gulacsi's departures ahead of Champions League play.
Christopher Nkunku is back at RB Leipzig,, and by all accounts the club expects rather more from him than a fresh start up front.
The striker left Leipzig at the top of his game. He was voted Bundesliga player of the year, won the league's golden boot and lifted the DFB Pokal twice before Chelsea signed him. This time the surroundings are the same but the role is not: with the squad still built largely around young players, Nkunku is being asked to take on a leadership part he never had to carry before.
That gap has opened up quickly. Yan Diomande has left for Real Madrid, and club legend Peter Gulacsi has moved to Villarreal, just as Leipzig prepare to return to the Champions League.
Nkunku set out how he sees the adjustment.
"When I was young, a lot of old players taught me and gave me some advice, and even today, I think about this advice. So, this is my role now, and this is something that I need to work on, but at the moment, I'm a new player. Even if I know the club, I need to understand and also know my teammates, so this is a process and I'll work on it," Nkunku said during a roundtable.
If Leipzig get the version of Nkunku that, the leadership question may answer itself. For now, by his own account, it remains a process rather than a finished job.
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