Newcastle United and Manchester United were “ready to push the limits” to sign Christopher Nkunku this summer.
BILD report on the forward today after he returned to Leipzig late in the window. That report includes comments from Leipzig sports chief Marcel Schäfer.
“This transfer wouldn’t have happened without Christo’s steadfastness. Two Premier League clubs were ready to push the limits—we wouldn’t have stood a chance against that.”
Leipzig win race
BILD then report that Nkunku turned down not only Newcastle but also Manchester United. He made it clear that he wanted to move to Leipzig and nowhere else.
That is something Schäfer is particularly impressed about. For him, it was important to focus on players with the right mentality.
“It was personally very important to me that we bring in someone with impeccable character,” he said.
“Someone who displays an incredible hunger to prove himself all over again. And off the pitch, too, we need a role model whom the young players can look up to.”
Newcastle’s interest
Sport Witness covered reports about Newcastle’s interest in Christopher Nkunku throughout the summer transfer window.
The Magpies were the more interested party by far. A report at the end of August made it clear that they had proposed a loan deal to Milan and were very much still trying to sign the 28-year-old before the end of the transfer window.
That came following weeks of similar reports, including one stating they were in a three-way battle with Leipzig and Dortmund for the Frenchman.
Manchester United were never presented as an option in Italy or Germany. It was reports in England that largely put them in the mix for his signature.
Now BILD insist that they were, though, while Schäfer is adamant that they were willing to spend big to secure the forward ahead of Leipzig. Fortunately for the German side, Nkunku wasn’t interested.
