Leipzig – Coming home feels like a comforting moment. The surroundings are familiar. Even if you’ve been gone for years, your bedroom still looks the same. But it can also bring pressure, especially when you’re someone like RB Leipzig striker Christopher Nkunku, who put Germany on top of the world while becoming Bundesliga Player of the Year, winning the Golden Boot and also winning the German Cup twice. That’s clear when people around the club talk about Nkunku, and when he watches the players’ reactions in training. This is no longer a young player trying to make a name for himself, but someone who has reached the top of his game and returned to Leipzig with a point to prove after spells at Chelsea and Milan.
Speaking to Nkunku, he learned that as he enters his prime in a team that usually signs young players, it will also be important for him to take on a more leadership role this time around as RB Leipzig return to the Champions League after a summer of change. Jan Diomande has left for Real Madrid and with club legend Peter Gulacsi heading to Villarreal, Nkunku could help fill the leadership void in the squad. Not much has changed for him at the club since his departure, but when everything is set up for his return, it’s the best-case scenario for him, even if there are risks to those expectations.
“When I was young, a lot of older players taught me and gave me some advice that I would consider even today,” Nkunku said during the roundtable. “So, that’s my role now and it’s something I need to work on, but at the moment, I’m a new player. Even though I know the club, I need to know and understand my teammates, so it’s a process and I’ll work on it.”
Since returning, he has registered a goal and two assists on the pitch. He blew his first balloon in the 5-0 win over Hamburg and while leading by speech is new for Nkunku, leading by example is nothing new for a player who is a central figure at Leipzig or any other club. He is aiming to return to the France national team under new manager Zidane, but his experience at Chelsea and Milan will help attract younger players, especially after his experience there. Nkunku described the move to Chelsea as bad timing, which does make sense given his struggles at the club. The struggles continued at Milan, where the style of play did not suit him.
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“In the Bundesliga they play very intensely, it’s more of a game of transition between attack and defense, that’s why you score a lot of goals in certain games…” Nkunku said. “In Italy, I think teams play to keep clean sheets, so they focus more on defense. I think even teams, maybe if they win 1-0 or score the first goal, after the goal is complicated, even the team that scored the first goal, they won’t think about scoring the second goal, so it’s very difficult.”
Descriptions of his time at Milan describe how difficult it can be for someone to perform in multiple leagues. But it’s also something he can pass on to the rest of the team. When Nkunku has done this before in the Bundesliga and beyond, members of the Leipzig squad will be able to learn from someone like Nkunku what to expect next. Now playing in the Champions League is new territory and he can help prepare the rest of the club, especially when they need to bounce back after a poor start to the league stage and a loss to Como.
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“We need to find a good balance between young players and if you see there are not many players over the age of 23, then this is a good move for Christopher,” Sporting general manager Marcel Schaefer said. “Pretty much the whole transfer market was closed and then it was open to loans and that was our only chance to sign Christopher, who was, without a doubt, like a huge signing for us in terms of his support, but on the other hand we had no doubts about his character, his attitude, his behavior and his willingness to work and that was the key that we should bring him back because in Germany, like if you bring a player back, their chances of success are very low.”
The character mentioned here is a key one because when you look around the club with new management and new players everywhere, if they don’t bring in players that fit the system it won’t be long before it all goes down the drain. Nkunku admits how his own personality has changed and how he now prefers to take on leadership roles, which is why he has a good chance of overcoming the difficulties even after this season, with the club looking to secure a second successive Champions League campaign.
“I know he has great quality and I’m happy he’s scoring goals and hopefully he’ll score a lot of goals this season, so I’m really happy for him,” Antonio Nousa said.
He no longer needs to be the Bundesliga Player of the Year, but if Nkunku can reach half that number when he replaces Diomande and others, RB Leipzig will have a strong season. Accepting the pressure will help the club and Nkunku achieve their goals and, who knows, it could even lead to a permanent return from this loan move back to Germany. He has struck the right balance so far and now it’s time to prove he has more to offer while pushing RB Leipzig into the Champions League, which could even lead to a France recall.