Chelsea have opened talks to sign Villarreal forward Nicolas Jackson with a £30million deal now in the pipeline.
Nicolas Jackson could finally earn himself a Premier League move with Chelsea now pushing to land him.
That is according to a report from The London Evening Standard, who claim that Chelsea have identified Jackson as a key striker target.
Kai Havertz could be off to Arsenal whilst Romelu Lukaku and Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang surely won’t have futures at Stamford Bridge.
A new striker is a must and Jackson is now a top target for Chelsea under new boss Mauricio Pochettino.
It’s claimed that Chelsea met with Jackson’s representatives last week and are now going in for a £30million move.
Jackson is seen as a much cheaper alternative to somebody like Napoli hitman Victor Osimhen, who would cost at least £100million.
Jackson would be around a third of that price and Chelsea seemingly see big potential in the Villarreal attacker.
Who is Chelsea target Nicolas Jackson?
Jackson was born in Gambia but has chosen to play for Senegal on the international stage.
The 21-year-old featured at the World Cup and has now earned two caps for Senegal.
Formerly of Casa Sports in Senegal, Jackson moved to Villarreal in 2019 and started making his way up their ranks.
A tough loan spell at Mirandes in the 2020-21 season gave Jackson a taste of men’s football, scoring just once in 16 league games.
Jackson broke into the Villarreal side under Unai Emery but really exploded under Quique Setien.
Jackson ended the campaign with nine goals in his final eight league games, taking his tally for the season to 13 in all competitions.
Quick and capable of causing problems in behind defences, Jackson has also shown some promise with instinctive finishes inside the box.
Bournemouth actually had a £21million deal for Jackson lined up in January but the forward failed his medical.
The Athletic also claimed that Southampton were in talks over a six-month loan deal with an option to buy Jackson.
Jackson missed out on his Premier League move in January and Southampton may wish they had got a deal done having now dropped into the Championship.
Fast forward a few months and Jackson could now go for even more money and land at one of the Premier League’s biggest clubs.
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