Christopher Nkunku wants out! Forward informs Chelsea of desire to leave amid Bayern Munich interest but German giants left waiting on Mathys Tel decision from Tottenham

Nkunku had a disrupted first season following his transfer to Chelsea from RB Leipzig in 2023 and has struggled for minutes again this term, with most of his opportunities coming in the Conference League where he has scored seven goals.

While the 27-year-old showed his quality in the Bundesliga, he has found his route into the Chelsea starting XI blocked by England international Cole Palmer. Bayern showed interest in Nkunku during the January transfer window before ending their pursuit, but a back-up striker to Harry Kane is still on their wishlist and German journalist Christian Falk told CF Bayern Insiderthe attacker is still an option.

While Nkunku is reportedly keen to leave Stamford Bridge, he needs a favour from Chelsea's London rivals, Tottenham. Ange Postecoglou's side brought in Mathys Tel on loan in the winter and Bayern are thought to need them to stump up the cash - thought to be a transfer fee of around €50 million (£43m/$57m) - in order to finance a deal for Nkunku. The 20-year-old has scored three goals in 13 appearances so far but Spurs are undecided over whether to make the move a permanent one in the summer.

Nkunku will hope to end a run of eight games without a goal when he likely features in Chelsea's Conference League semi-final first leg clash with Djurgarden on Thursday night, having remained an unused substitute during Saturday's 1-0 victory over Everton.