Chelsea and Bayern Munich are exploring separate deals to sign Mathys Tel and Christopher Nkunku.
It is rare for players to trade clubs in concurrent deals, but those moves are becoming more common in the world of profit and sustainability regulations (PSR). Chelsea were involved in similar deals with other Premier League sides in the summer.
If the moves did happen, what impact would they make on the pitch? Why would Chelsea be willing to let Nkunku leave? Does this sale have PSR benefits? And how would UEFA view the transaction?
The Athletic’s Chelsea experts Simon Johnson, Liam Twomey and Dan Sheldon explain below.
Why are Chelsea prepared to let Nkunku go?
A move this month makes sense for both parties. Nkunku is one of Chelsea’s highest-paid players but is not playing enough to warrant that status.
Reducing the wage bill is one way for Chelsea to keep their accounts in order. Chelsea have entered 2025 intending to make tweaks, rather than mass changes, to the squad. Signing another forward is on their wish list and, while Nkunku is the club’s joint-top scorer this season with 13 goals, he has scored only five times in the Premier League since he moved to Stamford Bridge in 2023.
As reported this week, the club value him at around £65million ($80m) — but they are prepared to wait until the summer to get the best deal. They still regard Nkunku as a useful option for the rest of the campaign.
Nkunku has rarely started in the Premier League (Julian Finney/Getty Images)
As The Athletic reported in November, Nkunku has grown unhappy at Stamford Bridge. He has started just three Premier League games, with most of his first-team minutes coming in the Conference League, Carabao Cup and FA Cup.
Nkunku would have expected to be a regular in the senior team. The striker also knows he needs to be playing from the start to fulfil his ambition of representing France at the World Cup next year.
Chelsea paid RB Leipzig more than €60million (£50.5m; $61.6m) to sign him and remain in a strong bargaining position, despite Nkunku’s lack of game time. He has four years left on his contract, is a 14-cap France international and, at 27, has many seasons left at the highest level.
Chelsea have earmarked some players to keep no matter what — including Cole Palmer — but Nkunku is not one of them.
Simon Johnson
Would ‘separate moves’ have PSR benefits?
A transfer fee can be amortised on the books for up to five years. For example, when a club spends £20million on a player, they can submit that fee as £4m per year in their end-of-year accounts. Spreading out the fee (rather than registering one lump sum) can help the club comply with financial rules.
Let’s say the club that spent £20million on a player then sells a different player for £20m to the same team — both sides can win from a short-term PSR perspective if their £20m signings are amortised over five years while their £20m sales can be recorded as one lump sum.
On paper, even though the money coming in matches the money going out, it can be recorded as a £16m profit in one year’s accounts.
Dan Sheldon
Would UEFA consider this to be a swap deal?
Chelsea are exploring separate deals, but it will be down to UEFA to determine whether this should be considered a swap deal or not.
As per Article G.3.5. of its financial sustainability regulations, UEFA can consider it to be a ‘player exchange transaction’ when two or more players are transferred in opposite directions in the same registration window.
Other determining factors — for example, if the moves are included in the same transfer contract — can lead to UEFA deciding the transfers are a single transaction.
Nkunku’s time at Chelsea has largely been frustrating (Glyn Kirk/AFP via Getty Images)
If the criteria are met, UEFA will apply the international accounting requirements, as per International Accounting Standards, when calculating the profit from the sale of the outgoing player and the transfer fee for the incoming player.
This is where it gets complex as it involves the finer details set out in player contracts, payment structures and so on.
But the main takeaway should be that, yes, UEFA allows deals like this, but how the transactions are reflected in the accounts is much more nuanced.
Dan Sheldon
Did Nkunku suit Maresca’s system?
It is mostly an issue of who would make way for Nkunku in his best position.
Nkunku is not a true No 9 — he is an attacking connector who flourishes when combining with team-mates between the opposition lines and arriving in the box to score. His problem is that Chelsea already have a superstar with that skill set: Palmer.
Palmer’s arrival and performances have limited opportunities for Nkunku (Bryn Lennon/Getty Images)
Palmer’s importance means that when Nkunku gets onto the pitch in a Premier League game, it is normally in a less favoured role — either as a central striker, where he has to receive the ball with his back to goal, or wide on the left, where he has never looked comfortable battling opposition full-backs or tracking their runs back into his half.
In a parallel universe, where Nkunku never got injured in a pre-season friendly in Chicago in the summer of 2023 and Chelsea never signed Palmer, he would likely be the main man at Stamford Bridge and an established Premier League star. But that is not his reality and it is no surprise that he has run out of patience.
Liam Twomey
Would Tel be more likely to fit in?
Tel certainly fits the profile that intrigues Chelsea’s recruitment team: young (19 years old), with elite potential, and attributes that could make him highly valuable across several positions.
Skilful, fast and an impressive finisher with both feet, it is not yet entirely clear whether Tel will end up as a goalscoring wide forward or hyper-mobile No 9. Chelsea might view that adaptability as a positive, given that he could be asked to alternate with Nicolas Jackson up front and add depth to Maresca’s wing options in the absence of Mykhailo Mudryk.
He may get more opportunities to play at Chelsea than Bayern, where he is vying with a galaxy of established attacking stars. He lacks the Nkunku’s pedigree but decision-makers at Clearlake Capital, Chelsea’s co-owner, have repeatedly exhibited a willingness to trade known production for potential upgrade in talent.
Liam Twomey
Tel in action for Bayern Munich (Sebastian Widmann/Getty Images)
Where did it go wrong for Nkunku?
A lot of it is down to pure misfortune, with even Ed Sheeran playing a role.
Nkunku settled very quickly into life at Chelsea during his first pre-season under former head coach Mauricio Pochettino. He was developing a good understanding with Jackson, playing just to the left of him. Three goals were scored in four friendlies on their summer tour of the United States.
But the final game of the trip took place at Soldier Field, Chicago just a few days after Sheeran had staged a concert there. The pitch was not in a good state but Nkunku’s serious knee injury was sustained in a collision with Borussia Dortmund defender Mats Hummels.
Nkunku needed surgery and was ruled out for four months. He ended up playing just 14 times last season as other fitness and injury issues arose.
Nkunku lies stricken on the turf at Soldier Field (Marco Steinbrenner/DeFodi Images via Getty Images)
Being available for selection has not been a problem this season, but he simply does not fit the way Maresca sets the team up as well as how Pochettino was looking to use him.
On the rare occasions he has been given a chance, he has failed to make a positive impression. For example, he underwhelmed in the costly 2-0 defeats to Newcastle United in the Carabao Cup and Ipswich Town in the Premier League.
Should Nkunku see out the campaign and an injury to Palmer or Jackson occurs, he could still get the chance to turn things around but his Chelsea career may just end up being a tale of what might have been.
Simon Johnson
(Top photo: Getty Images)
