Romano: Bundesliga giants tried to hijack Milan’s Nkunku deal – the background

Christopher Nkunku was AC Milan’s signing for the attack late in the window, but Bayer Leverkusen reportedly tried to land him too.

The operation seemed to materialise very quickly, with every major source reporting that Milan and Chelsea agreed a deal worth €37m plus €5m in bonuses. After pursuing more natural strikers all summer, it was quite a change in strategy from the management.

The deal was revealed on August 27th by Matteo Moretto and Fabrizio Romano and came to fruition on August 28th with the player’s arrival in Milan that evening. On that day, however, another club attempted to intervene, unsuccessfully.

Bayer Leverkusen’s attempt

As revealed by Romano (via MilanPress), Bayer Leverkusen attempted to snatch the French forward from Milan at the last minute, appearing willing to match the Rossoneri’s offe. However, the player was very clear: he only wanted to join Milan, rejecting a return to the Bundesliga.

After weeks of hard work at Milanello to get back up to match fitness, Nkunku made his first start for Milan on Tuesday night, also scoring his first goal against Lecce in the Coppa Italia. He played just over 60 minutes, drew a red card, hit the post and scored an acrobatic goal. Not a bad start.