How Nicolas Jackson’s Chelsea dream turned into a nightmare after bizarre contract extension – with Bayern Munich loanee out for Champions League revenge against his parent club
The rise of Jackson as one of the world’s best young striking prospects took a couple of twists and turns along the way. After struggling to nail down a place in the Villarreal lineup, he agreed to join Bournemouth in January 2023. However, he was carrying an injury at the time and complications arose in the medical, with the Cherries deciding to pull the plug on a £22.5 million (€26m) deal.
That seemed to light a fire under Jackson, who ended the 2022-23 season on a run of nine goals in his final eight La Liga games to secure Europa League qualification for the Yellow Submarine. This form also attracted more lucrative suitors in Chelsea, who stumped up £32m (€37m) to acquire his services. Notably, the club’s statement confirming his arrival did not quote either the player or head coach, Mauricio Pochettino, but instead co-sporting directors Paul Winstanley and Laurence Stewart.
“We are excited to welcome Nicolas to Chelsea,” the statement read. “He is a young player with big potential, as he showcased for Villarreal last season. We believe he is ready for this next step in his career and look forward to him working with our new head coach, Mauricio Pochettino, and his Chelsea team-mates.”
After the calamity of a 2022-23 campaign which saw Chelsea bring in several ageing stars and an assortment of rough-diamond youngsters, this was one of the first signs of pivoting to a new strategy focused on buying prospects with a bit more experience. The summer 2023 window also saw them bring in the likes of Cole Palmer, Moises Caicedo, Romeo Lavia and Robert Sanchez, but Jackson’s only direct competitor for the centre-forward spot was Armando Broja. In short, the position was his to lose.
