Aston Villa eye SHOCK move for crucial Chelsea star

Cameron Smith

• Updated: 27 Aug 2024 08:50 BST
• 3 min read

Aston Villa are reportedly eyeing a shock move for Chelsea forward Nicolas Jackson as they pursue a replacement for Jhon Duran.

Duran, 20, has been heavily linked with an exit for several months and he could still leave the club before Deadline Day, despite failed moves to Chelsea and West Ham United.

If the Colombian does depart, Unai Emery’s side will target a new centre-forward and CaughtOffside have reported that Jackson is currently one of their preferred targets.

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The Senegal international joined Chelsea from Villarreal last summer and despite an inconsistent first season at Stamford Bridge, he still managed to notch 17 goals in all competitions, while his all-round play was impressive.

However, Chelsea are chasing a new number nine and Napoli’s Victor Osimhen remains their priority target.

An agreement for the Nigerian is yet to be reached and while some reports state that Osimhen favours a move to Paris Saint-Germain, Chelsea are still in talks to sign him.

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If the Blues are able to finalise a deal for Osimhen, it may raise questions over Jackson’s place at Stamford Bridge and Villa are keen to pounce.

Emery’s side have reportedly been monitoring Jackson for over a year and they are currently evaluating whether a deal would be possible during the final week of the window, as per CaughtOffside.

Nicolas Jackson to leave Chelsea?

Earlier this summer, it was reported that Jackson may push to leave Chelsea due to the club’s decision to part ways with Mauricio Pochettino.

However, he opted to stay put and he remains Chelsea’s first-choice number nine as things stand.

As a result, a summer exit seems extremely unlikely, especially as Jackson would play second fiddle to Ollie Watkins at Villa Park.

The Chelsea star scored his first goal of the new season against Wolverhampton Wanderers on Sunday, netting the first strike in a 6-2 win for Enzo Maresca’s men.