Who is Nicolas Jackson? Chelsea set to sign forward from Villarreal

Chelsea have struck oil in the desert with the instant emergence of Saudi Arabian clubs willing to spend huge fees to pluck names from their huge squad which has allowed for some wiggle room for Todd Boehly to be able to stretch his jeans enough to stick his hand in his pocket once again.

The English club look set to sign Villarreal’s shining talent Nicolas Jackson for a huge fee, and the player is reported to be on his way to London to sign a deal that would see Chelsea’s already bulging squad grow yet again. The player was born in The Gambia but plays for Senegal, and featured for his national side at the 2022 World Cup in Qatar. However, his explosion onto the scene came late in the LaLiga season, getting 9 goals and 2 assists in his last 8 games of the season, winning May’s LaLiga player of the month award.

Who did Jackson play for before Villarreal?

Jackson grew up in Senegal and moved to Spain in 2019, signing for Villarreal’s Juvenil A side. He had impressed in his home nation for ASC Tilene and Casa Sports de Ziguinchor before the Spanish side took the plunge and gambled on the forward.

He spent some time in the youth ranks of the club before the decision was made to send him on loan, with Mirandés the destination, in Spain’s second division. He shone as a key member of the side and returned to Villarreal to play for the B Team, where he helped them achieve promotion to the Second Division.

What position does he play?

The forward can play all across the front line, with most of his attacking danger being created in the middle of a front three. Jackson can also take the ball on the wing and works well on the left, although creating from the right is not a problem for the player who excels in carring the ball to wherever it needs to be. Pochettino will enjoy the challenge of moulding him into whatever attacker he needs in a given game.

Jackson failed a Premier League medical

From there, Villarreal promoted Jackson to the first team and he made his debut in October 2021 as a substitute against Real Betis. The player continued to impress with his attacking ability, pace and skill, and was quickly in the middle of a deal to Premier League side, Bournemouth, in January 2023.

However, the deal fell through after Jackson failed a medical due to a hamstring issue and the player remained in Spain, where his development took another step in the right direction, seeing him to go on a sensational scoring run during the last stretch of the 202/23 LaLiga campaign.

The latest reports suggest that the player has a release clause in his contract of somewhere in the region of €35 million to €38 million, which, if paid, would see no need for a negotiation with the selling club.