A €37m BARGAIN: Nicolas Jackson is on his way to Chelsea stardom

Cameron Smith

• 17 Mar 2024 16:28 CDT
• 4 min read

Nicolas Jackson has been labelled as a transfer flop for the majority of his debut Chelsea campaign. However, that assessment is a rather poor one when considering all the factors involved.

The Senegal international had played as a central striker for just six months at Villarreal before making the move to Stamford Bridge and he has been an underrated part of Mauricio Pochettino’s Chelsea team.

The Blues have endured a very tricky campaign so far, there’s no escaping that, and Jackson’s poor finishing has played a part in their lowly league position.

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After all, Dominic Calvert-Lewin (-6.3) is the only player to have underperformed his xG by a larger amount than Jackson (-3.6) in the 2023-24 Premier League season.

However, his tally of nine league goals so far this season is only one less than Didier Drogba managed during his debut Premier League campaign (10) and Jackson still has 10 more matches to play.

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Nicolas Jackson: Chelsea’s long-term number nine?

Against a deep block, Jackson must improve; his movement inside the penalty area isn’t particularly strong and his finishing is often erratic. However, there aren’t many better counter-attacking forwards in the whole of Europe.

The Senegalese striker is an expert channel-runner and he makes darting runs to provide an option at every opportunity - his work rate is immense and it causes opposition defences major problems.

Furthermore, Jackson’s hold up play has vastly improved as the season has progressed and it’s a key reason why Chelsea’s goal tally from counter-attacking situations has increased dramatically in recent weeks.

His turn in the build-up to Callum Doyle’s red card against Leicester City was superb and it followed a simply sublime assist for Marc Cucurella’s opener. After receiving a through-ball from Cole Palmer, Jackson squared up Jannik Vestergaard, bypassed him with ease and had the composure to slide the ball across the six-yard box for Cucurella to tap in.

In the same position back in September, Jackson may have blazed an effort into the side netting, but he’s developed as a player throughout this campaign.

Jackson’s numbers against Leicester may not represent a typical centre-forward performance (three dribbles, two key passes and one assist), but he was instrumental in the Blues’ 4-2 win.

His misses have been well-documented this season, however Jackson is a unique talent and Chelsea's recruitment team deserves huge credit for identifying his immense ability.

Do Chelsea need to sign Victor Osimhen?

Chelsea’s pursuit of Victor Osimhen has been well documented, and the Nigerian is certainly better against low blocks and in aerial situations. However, Jackson has proven himself to be a huge asset in 2024.

At €37 million, he’s certainly been a bargain and while Osimhen may well displace him in the starting XI this summer, Jackson is a massive talent and he is capable of becoming a world-class striker if Chelsea give him time.

Osimhen is almost a guarantee of goals, but Chelsea should be wary of paying over the odds for the Napoli man, especially if Jackson continues on his current trajectory.