Christopher Nkunku's Time at Leipzig: Success, But There Could've Been More


June 3 deserves to be the day for star striker Christopher Nkunku to play his final game for RB Leipzig. Set to complete a 60 million pound move to Chelsea, he and Leipzig took home the DFB-Pokal against Eintracht Frankfurt this past Saturday, with Nkunku scoring and assisting in the 2-0 victory. Thus, the Red Bulls' star man leaves with back-to-back Pokals, three Pokal finals, a top 4 finish in the Bundesliga in each of his seasons in Germany, a Europa League semifinalist, a Champions League semifinalist, and joint top scorer in the Bundesliga in 2022-23. It was a highly successful spell for a club that is known mostly for its player development. 

But, in a way, Nkunku's time at Leipzig seems incomplete. It's hard to imagine given the state of German football there would ever be a disrupter to Bayern Munich's monopoly on the Bundesliga title. It typically falls to Bayern's main rival, Borussia Dortmund, to reclaim the prize for themselves. And they came close this season but lost out on the title on the final matchday with a draw to Mainz. Not many pundits or media outlets suggested Leipzig could be the third disruptor, even though they finished above Dortmund once and came close to challenging for the title. And it couldn't have been done without Nkunku.

His dynamic runs in behind while playing off another forward made Nkunku a standout striker in the Bundesliga. Not a natural forward and more a second striker - a role that is used less and less across Europe - Nkunku potted 16 goals to be joint top-scorer this season. Last season saw 20 goals in the league. Not to mention the clutch goals he scored across numerous Champions League nights. It's hard to imagine a team that at one point contained him, Andre Silva, Dayot Upamecano, Ibrahima Konate, Josko Gvardiol, Nordi Mukiele, Tyler Adams, and Timo Werner could not finish higher than 2nd place and win the DFB-Pokal twice across four seasons. 

Perhaps it is the fault of Leipzig. They are still a young team that demands excellence...just not that much excellence. To them, that means Champions League qualification every season. Player sales are always a casualty of each season, especially for a club in Germany that relies on that sort of income. Red Bull is different, being the exception to the 50+1 rule in the Bundesliga. They have enough money to make big-budget transfers, but they don't. Everything is done with low-value deals, all through the RB football network. Nkunku arrived from PSG  in 2019 after losing out to Kylian Mbappe and Edinson Cavani for starting roles. His impact on Leipzig was outstanding. Sure, he went through 4 managers in 3 seasons (Nagelsmann to Marsch to Tedesco to Rose), which doesn't help with consistency, but through it all, they still competed with the best teams. But it still feels lacking in a way.

The need for a new champion of Germany has long been discussed. Bayern's 11 straight titles have tarnished the parity of the Bundesliga, meaning that everything below 2nd place down is the real competition. Sure, Dortmund got close this season, but will they get back there? They can't harness the same players as Bayern and they now have to compete with Leipzig for those Champions League spaces. Leipzig should've been that club, but they never got over the hump. Now they're set to lose their best forward to the Premier League. 

Nkunku's rise in Leipzig will be discussed as a story of success that never reached its full potential. Still, two Pokals in 4 seasons is pretty good for a club that has to contend with Bayern every year. Benjamin Sesko will arrive to replace the Frenchman. As they say in football Twitter, they go again. Whether Leipzig can reach the levels they did with Nkunku remains to be seen. 

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