"What a total waste of money he’s been" - Craig Burley slams Chelsea star after their FA Cup loss to Brighton

Former Chelsea midfielder Craig Burley has ripped into Christopher Nkunku following the Blues' 2-1 loss to Brighton & Hove Albion in the Fourth Round of the FA Cup. Burley labeled the Frenchman "a total waste of money."

Enzo Maresca’s men set up a clash with the Seagulls in the FA Cup after defeating Morecambe 5-0 in the previous round of the competition.

Nkunku, who joined Chelsea from RB Leipzig in the summer of 2023, was named in the starting XI against Brighton as Nicolas Jackson and Marc Guiu were ruled out due to injury.

However, Nkunku had a night to forget as he squandered a host of opportunities. Despite playing the entirety of the game, he failed to register a shot on goal. His performance did not sit well with former Blues midfielder Craig Burley, who told ESPN (via GOAL):

“There was no cutting edge to the game. [Cole] Palmer has stopped influencing games like he was. Nkunku up front, I mean what a total waste of money he’s been. And on top of that they are looking a bit fragile at the back.”

On Chelsea’s 2024-25 campaign, Burley said:

"The discussion earlier in the season was whether they could stay in the title race. We kind of expected them to slip but they’ve slipped back into this Graham Potter, Mauricio Pochettino, Thomas Tuchel pedestrian passing game. 57 per cent possession – way more than Brighton – but what did they do with it? Absolutely nothing."

''If he’s playing and he’s confident'' – Steve Sidwell says lack of game-time is why Christopher Nkunku fluffed his lines for Chelsea vs Brighton

Former Premier League player Steve Sidwell leapt to Christopher Nkunku’s defense following Chelsea’s 2-1 defeat to Brighton in the FA Cup. Sidwell attributed Nkunku’s unproductiveness in front of goal against the Seagulls to his lack of playing time.

Since joining Chelsea in 2023, Nkunku has found regular playing time hard to come by. His debut season at the west London club was marred by injuries and he has failed to break into the starting XI under new manager Enzo Maresca.

While he has featured in 31 games for the Blues this season with 20 coming in the Premier League, only three of the league appearances have been from the start.

Nkunku has mostly started in the UEFA Conference League, FA Cup, and Carabao Cup. Sidwell, who spent a season at Chelsea during his playing days, believes the lack of game-time for the former RB Leipzig forward has adversely affected his goal-scoring ability. Sidwell told ITV Football (via The Chelsea Chronicle):

“If he’s playing and he’s confident, he’s burying that with his left foot. He looks really bright, his movement’s been great. He’s been dropping really deep, that’s obviously been the gameplan. It’s just that lack of confidence in front of goal, he needs to get one and build on that.”

Nkunku has scored 13 goals and provided four assists for Chelsea this season.