After just two seasons in West London, from high expectations to real disappointments, Senegalese forward Nicolas Jackson becomes on the top of the Chelsea’s departure list in the summer of 2024/2025.
Jackson was one of the promising faces landed by the new hierarchy in the new era after Roman Abramovich departure.
Jackson and Numbers
In the summer of 2023/2024, Nicolas moved from the yellow submarines Villareal to Chelsea in a deal cost the Blues €37.00m.
In his first season, Jackson played 44 games with Chelsea in all competitions including premier league, league cup and FA cup, he contributed in 23 goals (goals: 17 & assists: 6).
Jackson’s numbers decreased in his second season, his participation reached 37 games though CFC played in 5 different competitions, with 2 more international competitions the conference league and the club world cup, also his contributions fell into 13 goals and 6 assists.
What I consider worth to note about Nico in numbers is he had 10 yellow cards in his first season all came in PL only, also he collected 8 yellow cards and two red cards.
5 - In terms of appearances, Nicolas Jackson is the fifth-quickest player to reach 20 goals in the Premier League for Chelsea (one fewer than Hernán Crespo):
— OptaJoe (@OptaJoe) October 27, 2024
26 - Diego Costa
27 - Cole Palmer
33 - JF Hasselbaink
37 - Mark Stein
44 - Nicolas Jackson
Developing. pic.twitter.com/8JbRb7QEff
Why did Chelsea sign Jackson?
Jackson is a young forward, he was seen as a promising player with a big room of improvement.
He is fast paced, tall, good-carrier of the ball, a teamwork player, good in the build up, can both score and assist goals.
The fans welcomed Jackson with warmness and support, they were behind him in his dark times and when he was out of form, they believed he could be the new Drogba.
When did it go wrong with Jackson?
In his full two season with Chelsea, Jackson was the main forward for the club with many injuries for the French striker Christopher Nkunku and lack of experience of Spanish young striker Marc Guiu.
All the pressure of scoring goals for Chelsea was on Jackson’s shoulders, he thought that and the media convinced the fans with this idea.
Nicolas scored 30 goals across the two seasons but his man technical weakness was missing clear-cut chances with high expected goals ratios.
The Italian manager Enzo Maresca believed in Nicolas Jackson, he kept playing him and defending him publicly.
But when your team was chasing champions league spot in a very tense premier league battle and your team accounted on you, you have to be there doing your best, but Nicolas was shown a direct red card in the 35 minute leaving Chelsea playing with 10 men players against the hosts Newcastle who were a direct rival for CL spot in a match ended with a 2-0 loss for the Magpies.
A red card, loss for the team, 2 matches suspension and a possibly lost season target by missing CL, Nico left a disaster for the Blues in the last two PL games.
Chelsea moved on to the Club World Cup and again Jackson was supported by the manager, his teammates and the fans but he didn’t learn his lesson. The Senegalese forward was shown the red card against Flamengo in a game ended with a 3-1 loss to the Blues and a two match suspension.
Jackson let all down with his uncontrolled attitude and his anger issues which limited his game.
Additionally, Nicolas improvement is considered a slow progress regarding his two full seasons, minutes he played, the chances he got despite of the mistakes, the love he received from the fans and the support given from the management.
The final jigsaw
Beach to the Bridge. Joao Pedro is here! 🏖️ pic.twitter.com/wT3RUNLnUS
— Chelsea FC (@ChelseaFC) July 2, 2025
Chelsea signed Liam Delap from Ipswich, Joao Pedro from Brighton and are close to getting another attacker player, Xavi Simons.
Delap and Pedro featured with Chelsea in the CWC and they both did well in a very short space of time. They can lead Chelsea’s attack next season with all the issues facing Jackson.
Nico’s limited minutes in the remaining of the CWC after the red card is an indication for his future if he decides to continue and fight for his place.
Chelsea valued Jackson at €60-70 m, he was surveyed by the likes of Manchester United, Newcastle, Aston Villa and Milan, but his high value was an obstacle.
The Blues are active in selling this period of the transfer window and Jackson is surely available for the suitable price.
Nico was the first one to blame for bad results, for the shortage of goals in different periods along the two full season, the Senegalese forward couldn’t handle all these pressures.
The 24 years old lost the support of the majority of Chelsea fans, being unwanted and not the main man could the reasons pushing Nicolas outside the bridge.
