'He was close to joining AC Milan' says Chelsea star's agent

Cameron Smith

Updated: 17 Sept 2023 21:36 BST
3 min read

Mauricio Pochettino, Chelsea — © ProShots

Nicolas Jackson’s agent has claimed that he was “close to signing with AC Milan” before he joined Chelsea this summer.

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Jackson, 22, put pen to paper on an eight-year deal at Stamford Bridge in July after the Blues agreed a €37 million fee with Villarreal.

He has scored one Premier League goal so far this campaign, but his movement and link-up play has looked sharp throughout.

But, the Senegal international could have been plying his trade for Milan this season if things had worked out slightly differently.

Back in January, Jackson was on the verge of joining AFC Bournemouth, but a failed medical meant that he stayed at Villarreal. He proceeded to score nine La Liga goals in the final eight games of the season, which attracted interest from Chelsea.#

However, his agent, Diomansy Kamara, has revealed that a move to MIlan was close before Jackson agreed to join Chelsea.

In a YouTube interview with USCatanzarocalcionews, Kamara said: “The player did well; many offers arrived. We were close to signing with AC Milan, then Chelsea arrived, and we went there.”

Instead, Milan ended up signing Noah Okafor from RB Salzburg and Luka Jovic from Fiorentina as back-up options to Olivier Giroud.

In addition, the San Siro side also added Christian Pulisic and Samuel Chukwueze to their attack this summer, while Ruben Loftus-Cheek, Yunus Musah and Tijani Reijnders arrived to bolster the midfield.

Jackson at Chelsea

So far, Jackson’s only competitive goal in a Chelsea shirt came in their 3-0 win over Luton Town, which remains their only victory of the Premier League season so far.

He has amassed an Expected Goals (xG) tally of 3.0, meaning he should have netted two more based on the quality of chances he has been provided this campaign.

Nonetheless, Jackson now has an Estimated Transfer Value (ETV) of €30.6m - a huge increase from his €8.4m ETV at the beginning of 2023.