When both Boulaye Dia and Paco Alcacer bid farewell to Villarreal during the summer transfer window, you’d have been forgiven for expecting to see Unai Emery delve into the transfer market in pursuit of a ready-made replacement.
Instead, the now-Aston Villa coach opted to keep the chequebook closed, putting his faith in a 21-year-old forward who had never started a single La Liga match before the beginning of 2022/23.
“He is a player who is in the process of growing,” Emery told AS of young Nicolas Jackson. “There are times when some players have to go elsewhere (on loan) to grow. But we are betting on him because his contribution is very high.
“He must get experience in front of goal, and this is a learning process. We need to establish young players and we want to bet on them.”
Will Unai Emery and Nicolas Jackson work together again at Aston Villa?
Villarreal have a proud history when it comes to turning homegrown talent into first-team regulars. Mario Gaspar, Manu Trigueiros, Pau Torres, Bruno Soriano and Alfonso Pedraza all rose through the ranks at the Castellon coast.
And while Senegal-born Jackson arrived at Villarreal from African football as recently as 2019, he most certainly counts as yet another exciting young talent who blossomed on the first-team stage after honing his talents in the club’s prosperous academy.
According to the Daily Mail, a reunion between Nicolas and Emery could now be on the cards at Villa Park. Aston Villa, the report says, have joined Newcastle United and Everton in keeping tabs on a player who has three goals and two assists during his breakthrough campaign with the Yellow Submarine.
And Villa’s interest in Jackson offers a intriguing glimpse into what fans can expect to see from an Unai Emery team. Specifically, how he plans to set up Villa’s attack.
A very Emery sort of striker
The Basque-born 50-year-old, throughout his managerial career, has often succeeded in getting the bast out of speedy centre-forwards. Kevin Gameiro and Carlos Bacca, two players at their most effective when racing behind high lines and finishing one-v-one, scored goals for fun under Emery at Sevilla. Ditto Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang at Arsenal.
Villarreal’s former Bournemouth ace Arnaut Danjuma, meanwhile, is no longer a jinking winger but a ruthless number nine. And don’t be surprised to see Ollie Watkins take his game to a new level over the next few months.
Jackson, then, is a very Emery type of striker; fast, direct and an excellent ball carrier. He’s been likened to compatriot Sadio Mane by some; not without justification. An ambitious and well-heeled Aston Villa will back their new head coach in the transfer market, and Jackson won’t come cheap at a rumoured £29 million.
And Jackson might not merely be Emery’s first Villa signing. He could be the posterboy for the whole Emery era.
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