Christopher Nkunku has finally come alive in England after an injury-ridden spell during his first year.

The French forward arrived from RB Leipzig in 2023, offering much promise to a team that desperately needed fresh attacking impetus.

Christopher Nkunku at Chelsea

He started his tenure in West London with a bang under Mauricio Pochettino during the preseason tour in the United States. However, his season was crushed when he picked up a damaging knee injury that kept him out for four months.

The injury and subsequent relapses restricted him to only 516 minutes last season.

This season, he has been a victim of Chelsea's deep squad under Enzo Maresca. He started Chelsea's first two Premier League games but has since returned to the bench, making only cameo performances.

🎩 @c_nk97’s first @ChelseaFC hat-trick!#EFL | #CarabaoCup pic.twitter.com/aUBk8qHIZB

— Carabao Cup (@Carabao_Cup) September 24, 2024

Maresca has started him in cup games, and the forward hasn't disappointed. He bagged his first Chelsea hat trick against Barrow in the third round of the Carabao Cup. The three-goal haul took his tally to six goals in eight appearances for the season, as captured by Transfermarket.

Why Nkunku celebrates with a balloon

One feature of Nkunku's celebrations has always been a balloon. At Leipzig, he used a red one but switched to blue when he moved to West London.

The 26-year-old has previously offered a heartwarming explanation of why he uses balloons in his celebrations.

"The balloon was for my son. He likes balloons,” as quoted by GMS.

What next for Nkunku and Chelsea?

His form in front of goal will give Maresca sleepless nights going forward. The Italian manager currently has two strikers on top of their powers. Nicolas Jackson has four goals in six appearances.

Chelsea play Brighton on Saturday before starting their Conference League campaign with a game against Gent.