Nicolas Jackson has proven people wrong now he needs Chelsea's trust
Few knew his name a year ago, now Nicolas Jackson deserves to be Chelsea's leading striker
(Photo by Michael Regan/Getty Images)
There are parallels to how Chelsea fans right now are reacting to the club’s early summer transfer business to the discourse when a £30m move for Nicolas Jackson from Villarreal was secured.
Skepticism followed and little expectation formed for a 22-year-old who had only recently broken into the Villarreal starting lineup and did not boast tons of minutes to showcase a wealth of end product.
But in retrospect, this probably helped Jackson.
There have been many tales of the expensive flop that was painted as a biblical savior coming over the mountain only for that hope to quickly evaporate into condemnation.
Romelu Lukaku probably comes to mind first and most recently. A player who had a lot of history to back up the heavy investment.
This is probably the strongest argument Chelsea’s sporting directors have to those of us who have questioned a policy of chasing the future rather than today. And it is fair, that 28-year-old’s can bring as much risk as any other age.
Specifically leading the line for Chelsea is a unique pressure few have been able to overcome in the past 20 years. The success stories are in the minority, the failures could fill up a coach. Whatever we think of the number nine having to do with a individual’s actual ability on the pitch, that position has weighed heavy on several shoulders.
Only Tammy Abraham since the exit of Diego Costa in 2017 had even come close to replicating the talismanic presence few could rival. Alvaro Morata, Kai Havertz, Timo Werner and Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang all have failed.
By the time we reached the signing of Jackson in 2023, it was hard to call the move any more illogical than spending another shedload on the ready made thing.
The Senegal international soon excited viewers during a positive pre-season under Mauricio Pochettino. Scoring a few, showing nimble feet against Premier League opposition, an impressive speed off the shoulder of defenders, and an ability to link up with those around him.
This of course all changed once the proper stuff kicked in. And its fair to say Jackson soon found things more challenging. Despite some good overall displays, a glaring miss in a home loss to Nottingham Forest at the end of August was his first high-profile blunder. The sort of moment all too familiar for Chelsea fans.
What also did not help Jackson was the injury to Christopher Nkunku before the season opener, something that only heightened the scrutiny on his raw ability. Nkunku was really the outlier in terms of summer arrivals, mainly because he was secured before the arrivals of Paul Winstanley and Laurence Stewart, when Christopher Vivell held more influence behind the scenes before his exit.
A player of Bundesliga and Champions League pedigree who seemed certain to play an integral role in Pochettino’s youthful attack. This was supposed to take the pressure off Jackson and others to solely carry the burden of goalscoring.
Jackson soon settled though, netting a winner against Brighton in the Carabao Cup which was created by Cole Palmer – a relationship that would blossom over the course of the campaign. Then came a hat-trick away at Spurs that personally allowed Jackson to showcase a variety of celebrations to an adoring away end.
A knee-slide after another against Manchester City in a thrilling 4-4 draw six days later only helped matters.
This did not eradicate spurned chances or unorthodox moments. Loose touches or harsh lessons amidst the physicality or quality of Premier League opposition. A tough day at home to Brentford in October only highlighted how raw Jackson was, only triggering more abuse from his own supporters.
More poor outings in a difficult winter even triggered boos from sections of the Chelsea away end at Wolves on Christmas Eve, as Chelsea suffered another demoralizing loss.
It could have been easy for Jackson’s head to drop, shoulders to slump further and become a self-fulfilling prophecy. Another sorry tale on the scrap heap of failed Chelsea strikers.
But Jackson had two things on his side; age and impact. Even in those challening moments, the forward seemed to always be producing something positive. A nice bit of link up, a selfless run to create space for someone else. A battling knockdown to get his team further up the pitch.
Maybe a month away with his nation at AFCON in January only helped him and his reputation. Because it soon became clear, that although not perfect, Chelsea without Jackson did not look as threatening a proposition for opponents to stifle.
A collection of displays in February only cemented this point, as Pochettino soon wrestled away the fear of a full blown crisis after another damaging loss to Wolves.
A dazzling performance off the left wing away to Aston Villa in an FA Cup replay contributed to one of Chelsea’s best performances of the season. Netting the second with a powerful header to cement the Blues dominance.
A harshly ruled out goal in the Carabao Cup Final scuppered glory, as did his failed attempts at the same stadium in April against Manchester City in the FA Cup Semi-Final, a day that only heightened scorn amongst doubters of him.
His involvement in the penalty drama against Everton did not help, nor other memorable misses that frustrated. In an social media age, those 10 seconds are replayed ad nauseam to paint the most unflattering of pictures.
Though a very strong run in from Chelsea was spearheaded thanks to a lot of his work.
Using all his neck muscles to divert a rebound beyond Spurs defenders to seal a huge win at the Bridge, two more in a rout against West Ham and a dramatic winner to seal a late comeback at Nottingham Forest.
All of this ended the season with Jackson on 14 Premier League goals, 16 in total across the three competitions Chelsea played in. In the history of the club’s greatest goalscorers, not remarkable – especially overshadowed by Cole Palmer.
However, context has always mattered when judging Jackson. If you measure his own ability and output through the lens of someone 7/8 years older who cost double the price, he will still underwhelm. But through the lens of what he actually is, a young, inexperienced forward who had massive pressure on his shoulders whilst demonstrating some very rough edges; it was a successful first term.
Need we mention to comparison with Rasmus Højlund, signed by Manchester United with major hype for £72m, but ended on the same number of as Jackson, four less in the Premier League. But the overall discourse around both players is remarkable contrasted with the actual reality.
If you talk about Højlund, there is a general consensus that he has a “higher ceiling” and a clear path to greatness. Whilst Jackson, is poor, “not good enough”, “wasteful”, “technically poor”.
How people have come to this conclusion is strange – Chelsea fan or not.
Jackson has earned time and trust from his club. Despite consistent reports of the club aiming to sign another forward in the transfer window, it is quite telling that few of the “hyped names” are significantly better than where Jackson currently is, or what he could still become.
This almost feels like a repeat of the summer of 2020 or 2021. Where Tammy Abraham had proven himself to be a consistent scorer, albeit with some rough edges. The numbers for him at an early age looked promising, and there was a sound logic to believe that investing more time into him could have saved the club a lot.
Jackson offers the same opportunity.
His Premier League scoring output in 2023/24 put him in the top 25 highest-scoring seasons by a Chelsea player in the Premier League era. His biggest red flag was underperforming his xG was the fourth worst in the league. But again, context of only one season in English football and still two years away from hitting the age of 25 cannot be forgotten.
Chelsea have often spent a lot with not much in return. The ridicule of Jackson completely forgets the very recent failures of Kai Havertz, Lukaku, Timo Werner and Aubameyang.
Jackson deserves the chance to remain as Chelsea’s leading forward.
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