Premier League side Chelsea have confirmed the £52m transfer of France forward Christopher Nkunku from RB Leipzig.

Nkunku, who will officially become a Chelsea player on July 1, has agreed to a six-year deal at Stamford Bridge.

Sky Sports News reported in October that Chelsea were willing to pay above the 25-year-old’s €60m release clause, which came into effect this summer, but it appears they have now chosen to meet that fee.

Happy Nkunku

“I am incredibly happy to be joining Chelsea,” said Nkunku, who came through the Paris Saint-Germain youth system.

“A big effort was made to bring me to the club, and I am looking forward to meeting my new coach and team-mates and showing the Chelsea supporters what I can do on the pitch.

“Having played in Ligue 1 and the Bundesliga, I now want to play in the Premier League, one of the strongest leagues in the world. I am very excited for this challenge and will be proud to wear the Chelsea shirt.”

Nkunku, who scored 16 goals and provided six assists in 25 Bundesliga appearances this season, can play as a center-forward in the No 10 position.

Laurence Stewart and Paul Winstanley, Chelsea’s co-sporting directors, said: “Christopher has proven himself one of the standout attacking players in European football over the past two seasons and will add quality, creativity, and versatility to our squad.

“He has demonstrated his ability at the highest level with RB Leipzig and France, and we look forward to him joining up with his new teammates ahead of the new season.”

Nkunku joined the Paris Saint-Germain youth system in 2010. He was a member of the youth team that finished runners-up in the 2015–16 UEFA Youth League. He made his professional debut at the age of 18 on December 8, 2015, in a UEFA Champions League match against Shakhtar Donetsk.

On July 18, 2019, RB Leipzig announced Nkunku’s signing on a five-year deal for an approximate €13 million transfer fee plus bonuses. He made his debut for the club on August 11 in a DFB-Pokal match against VfL Osnabrück, which ended in a 3–2 victory. His Bundesliga debut followed a week later when he scored his first competitive goal on the first matchday of the 2019–20 season in a 4–0 win over regional rivals Union Berlin.

On February 22, 2020, Nkunku provided four assists in a 5–0 victory over Schalke 04. In doing so, he became just the second player in recent Bundesliga history to register four assists in a single match, after Szabolcs Huszti in 2012.

On September 15, 2021, Nkunku scored a hat-trick for Leipzig in their 6–3 defeat to Manchester City in a 2021–22 UEFA Champions League group stage match. He was the first player in the club’s history to score a hat-trick in the Champions League.