Christopher Nkunku named player of the season

French international and RB Leipzig talisman, Christopher Nkunku has been voted 2021/22 Bundesliga Player of the Season.

The exceptional Nkunku brushed aside the likes of Robert Lewandowski, Erling Haaland and Patrik Schick to scoop the prize.

Remarkably, the French forward was one of six different Player of the Month winners of the course of the campaign. The only difference is he won the award a single-season record four times – in October 2021, February, March and April 2022.

It is imperative to note that the award, created by the DFL Deutsche Fußball Liga in 2018/19 in cooperation with the Bundesliga’s official licensing partner, EA Sports, is decided by via the Team of the Season fan votes (40 percent), clubs (30 percent) and experts (30 percent).

Nkunku, 24,netted 20 goals in 34 Bundesliga appearances in 2021/22, whilst producing 13 assists to help Leipzig recover from their worst ever start to a top-flight season and finished fourth. The award winner was the first player to reach double digits in both categories, while only 35-goal top scorer Lewandowski had a direct hand in more goals over the course of the campaign (38).

Commendably, it was Nkunku’s most productive season of Bundesliga football by a mile, the former Paris Saint-Germain attacker having scored or assisted 20 goals in 2019/20 and 13 in 2020/21. He received his maiden senior international call-up for his efforts, and earned his first France caps during the March 2022 international break.

Sensationally, Nkunku was exceptional on the European club scene, registering 11 goals and three assists across 12 UEFA Champions League and Europa appearances. Among his highlights was a hat-trick against Guardiola’s free-scoring Manchester City in the Champions League groups, and a brace away Italian outfit Atalanta that took Leipzig through to the Europa League semi-finals.

In addition to his player of the season award, Nkunkuscooped the DFB Cup after Leipzig overcame Freiburg on penalties in the final.