Why Chelsea’s new £52million signing celebrates with a balloon ahead of Stamford Bridge move

Chelse have confirmed the signing of French forward Christopher Nkunku from RB Leipzig for £52m as they look to give their striking force ammunition and get goals into the team next season.

The 25-year-old scored 16 goals in 25 games in the Bundesliga last season and will be one of the new faces for Mauricio Pochettino as they look to get back on track following an underwhelming campaign where they finished 12th in the league table.

The striker puts a balloon in his socks and inflates it to celebrate when he scores important goals and has now revealed why he does it often.

He explained the gesture was to his son and he intends to bring it to Stamford Bridge. He said: “The balloon? It was for my son. He likes them so when I score I dedicate the goal to him like this.”

Nkunku is seen as the future of French football and Chelsea will hope that they get more from him than they did with Timo Werner even though he also helped the team win the Champions League under Thomas Tuchel in 2021.

In the last two seasons, he ruptured his collateral ligament and had muscle fiber issues which partly jeopardized his output and his call-up with France for the World Cup in Qatar.

Experienced forward Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang brought in by Tuchel days before his sacking is expected to leave the club while returning Romelu Lukaku’s future is still up in the air.

New manager Pochettino doesn’t start work till the 1st of July but the arrival of Nkunku is expected to kick-start what is expected to be another fascinating summer for the Blues.