Plenty has been said about Nicolas Jackson since moving to Chelsea last summer. And for the most part, it has been rival supporters mocking the striker.
Jackson, signed for £30million from Villarreal last summer, has missed 22 ‘big chances’ this season with only Darwin Nunez of Liverpool (27) and Manchester City striker Erling Haaland (32) missing more in the Premier League. While the Senegalese forward will undoubtedly want to improve on that, the reality is he has netted 16 goals in all competitions in his debut season in a new country.
Mauricio Pochettino summed it up perfectly last month: “First season is always difficult for all the players, especially when you are a striker and need to perform and score goals. Everyone expects you to score a goal with every touch.
He is our main striker, the only striker we have fit because [Christopher] Nkunku nearly didn’t play the whole season, [Armando] Broja also then moved to Fulham because he wanted to play more. [Jackson] is doing fantastic.”He is doing an amazing job for the team, running, scoring goals and giving assists.
He is a young guy coming from Spain and he has done fantastic.Players do find it difficult to adapt to a new country, culture and league – especially the Premier League – but Jackson’s return is more than respectable.
The 22-year-old now has 13 Premier League goals to his name after his double against West Ham United in the 5-0 rout of the Hammers at the weekend.
