According to Football London, Villarreal forward Nicolas Jackson is set to undergo a medical examination in London this week as his transfer to Chelsea moves closer.
Recent reports confirmed that the Senegal international has reached an agreement on personal terms with the Blues. The West London club will activate his €35 million release clause to secure his services.
Jackson is on the verge of signing a five-year contract with Chelsea, with an option to extend it for an additional year. While he may not be widely recognized in European football yet, it’s positive to see that the club is addressing a weak area of the squad in the summer transfer window.
Understand Chelsea are closing in on Nico Jackson deal — Villarreal informed today that €35m bid is set to be sent to match release clause 🚨🔵 #CFC
Chelsea & Villarreal, discussing installments as expected.
Jackson agreed long term deal; only wants Chelsea.
Matter of time. pic.twitter.com/MrZ1cqLz31
— Fabrizio Romano (@FabrizioRomano) June 19, 2023
Chelsea has struggled to find a prolific goalscorer in the number nine position since the departure of Diego Costa over five years ago.
Despite signing big-name strikers like Alvaro Morata, Gonzalo Higuain, and most recently Romelu Lukaku for significant fees, none of them could deliver consistently for the club.
In his first senior season at Villarreal, Jackson impressively netted 13 goals in 38 appearances, despite playing only 2,121 minutes.
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These goal returns are commendable, particularly considering that Villarreal may not be a team known for creating numerous scoring opportunities.
The newly appointed Chelsea manager, Mauricio Pochettino, prefers to have a traditional number nine in his team rather than employing a false nine approach where goals are distributed among various players.
During his successful tenure at Tottenham, Pochettino had the prolific Harry Kane as the main goalscorer, with strong support from players like Dele Alli, Christian Eriksen, and Heung-min Son.
While Jackson may not currently possess the same level as Kane, he possesses the potential to develop into one of the top centre-forwards in the coming years.
