Mauricio Pochettino has opened up on talks he has had with star player Christopher Nkunku. The Frenchman is still yet to make his competitive debut for the club but is getting closer to a much awaited appearance in blue.

"We had some conversation and he said to me I want to be ready for after the international break, Newcastle," Pochettino said on Friday when asked about the 25-year-old. Chelsea face Manchester City on Sunday but then have two weeks without a game during the international break, the perfect time for Nkunku to continue his recovery.

The fixture list doesn't get much easier though with games against Brighton and Manchester United as well as a league and Carabao Cup double header against Newcastle United. Although it's not clear just which Newcastle game Nkunku was targeting, reports have suggested that the cup clash on December 19 is more likely.

"I asked him yesterday [about a return] and he said 'hmmm,' " Pochettino continued. "And I said you are liar!" Eddie Howe's side also host Chelsea in the first game back after international committments on November 25. This would come at least one week earlier than originally expected.

Nkunku had been fit throughout pre-season after arriving from RB Leipzig at the end of last term but saw his antipicated Premier League debut put on hold after picking up a damaging knee injury in the final game of the American tour. He was ruled out for an initial four months, a timeframe that indicated a return in December.

"It is close and he is really well," added Pochettino. "We are happy with him. Romeo Lavia is also close. They trained today on the pitch. Hopefully with the team next week."

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Lavia is another new signing yet to play for the club after damaging his ankle in the first week of the September international break. He had been given some extra time to prepare for the season due to a disrupted pre-season with Southampton.

The 19-year-old is a player of great quality that Chelsea fought hard to sign but it is Nkunku that gets the attention due to his record in Germany over the past two seasons. He has become one of the most fearsome forwards out there and managed to finish as top scorer in Bundesliga despite missing over two months with injury last winter.

It is this that brings hope to Chelsea that he can still have a huge impact on the season even after missing what will come close to being half of the league games. "He’s a player that when you see the goals he scored last season, he provides goals, and I think we’re missing goals," Pochettino explained earlier this seaosn. "That’s why we think he’s a player that can be important for us.

“He’s proved he can score goals in the Bundesliga. If today we had eight or 10 goals from Nkunku, maybe the situation [in the league] would be completely different."