Nicolas Jackson is a unique No 9 – but which teams would he suit if he leaves Chelsea?

New York Times

4 days ago

It's fair to say that Nicolas Jackson continues to divide opinion as a Premier League centre-forward.
At his best, the 24-year-old is a bulldozing No 9; a tireless runner, lethal on the transition, capable of turning nothing into something with his all-action approach to the game. Catch him on an off day, and he can look clunky, untidy; a slightly chaotic striker who can snatch at his chances on goal.
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Chelsea's decision to bring in Liam Delap and Joao Pedro this summer might suggest they are ready to move Jackson on, but those in the club remain convinced by his ability.
Though their front line is starting to look slightly bloated, Jackson's threat on the counter is unique — another attacking profile Enzo Maresca can lean on to overcome the different challenges the Premier League presents.
There are several clubs who are on the lookout for a striker, including Manchester United and Newcastle United, while Aston Villa may be in the market too if Ollie Watkins were to leave this summer.
So, what exactly is Jackson's skill set, and what could he bring to each of the clubs linked?
Looking back on his first two seasons in English football, it's important to remember Jackson is still relatively inexperienced when it comes to top-flight minutes. He had only started 16 games in La Liga for Villarreal before Chelsea came calling, struggling to lock down a starting place for most of the campaign, before racking up nine goals in the final eight games.
With that in mind, there is plenty of time for Jackson to refine his game. His time at Chelsea presented a steep learning curve, but the Senegal international has not been overawed by the step up, holding his own against tough Premier League defenders and clocking a respectable tally of 34 goal involvements along the way.
The speed at which Jackson has adapted to new surroundings is impressive, and is appealing to suitors who believe they can tap into his potential further by providing him with space to continue flex his muscles on the break. In that respect, Newcastle's interest adds up — they trailed only Liverpool for expected goals (xG) generated through counter-attacking sequences last season.
According to advanced data provider Footovision, Jackson was the player with the most counter-attacking involvements via ball carries in the division, able to tear through teams with powerful, head-down dribbling and lead breakaways on his own.
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It's something Eddie Howe saw first-hand as he took Newcastle to Stamford Bridge in October. Below, in frame one, Jackson drops deep to give his goalkeeper Robert Sanchez a passing option.
With the opposition locked on man-for-man, Jackson spots the opportunity to roll his centre-back with a quick spin, before accelerating away and bursting through the middle of the pitch, eventually laying the ball off for Noni Madueke to cut inside and shoot.
Inside his own half and facing away from goal, he turns a pressure-relieving pass into a chance in just under six seconds.
Here is another example against Bournemouth; Jackson drifts into a similar position to get on the ball, but this time with Dean Huijsen much tighter to him.
The broadcast footage cuts away, but returns with the defender desperately trying to pull the striker back. David Brooks tries to knock him off balance in frame three, but ends up on the floor, before Jackson powers towards the penalty area and thumps a shot off the base of the left post.
Jackson works exceptionally hard without the ball to stretch opposition defences too, constantly looking to run at the defensive line. Only Watkins made more runs in behind per 30 minutes of team possession in the Premier League last season, going some way to explaining why he might be of interest to those at Villa Park.
It's not just the quantity of runs, but the speed and aggression with which he makes them that stands out. Jackson made 60 sprints in behind the defence — defined as SkillCorner as an off-ball run of at least 25km/h — nine more than any other Premier League player.
Many of these, as highlighted below, led to a shot for his team within 10 seconds. It also helps to underline the selflessness of many of Jackson's movements, happy to repeatedly run into the channels and break from deep to drag his team up the pitch and show for the dangerous ball behind a high defensive line.
Here against Villa, for example, Jackson is quick to target the space after a turnover in possession, sprinting out to the flanks as the ball makes its way to Marc Cucurella, to provide an out ball for his team.
The pass is difficult to bring down, and although Jackson gives away the foul after colliding with Ezri Konsa further down the line, he almost provides Chelsea with a lucrative escape route with the intensity of his running and that battering-ram approach down the wings.
It's not always neat with Jackson — there can be some quite scruffy passages of play where he charges in too hard, or is slightly too keen to start his run — but keep giving him the chance to get it right and the destruction he can cause is clear.
The bar chart below illustrates the percentage of team runs in behind that were targeted with a pass from a team-mate last season. It suggests Newcastle could be a team that would make the most of his off-ball movement, a direct side who will be happy to seek out Jackson and get their other high-quality attacking players into the final third quickly around him.
Jackson would be a potent addition — along with the electric Anthony Elanga — to increase their incisiveness on the break.
All of the above will also be of interest to Manchester United, who are in search of a channel-running, physically dominant centre-forward themselves. They're also looking for box presence, a forward who can generate high-value chances close to goal, as the team with the third-lowest proportion of shots inside the penalty area in 2024-25.
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Jackson is among the strikers being considered by United, but it is uncertain who they would go for — and they would have to sell first.
A look to Jackson's shot map since joining Chelsea points to a player who consistently creates danger, with his high xG per shot value of 0.2 — only bettered by four Premier League players across that time — outlining his ability to get into valuable goalscoring positions. Only six players have taken more shots from inside the six-yard box, too.
That said, there are some concerns around Jackson's ability to strike cleanly through the ball, particularly at speed, and when it is fed into his left side. Of his 24 Premier League goals, only four have come on his weaker foot — two of those simple finishes into an empty net— and he often struggles to keep his balance and lacks control as he looks to generate power.
Below against Brentford, we see a great example of how Jackson can be incisive with his alert movement, setting off to attack the space as soon as the midfield line is broken with a pass into Enzo Fernandez.
From there, the centre-forward does everything right — latching on to the through ball, setting himself, and taking it around the goalkeeper — but he is uncomfortable when it comes to wrapping his foot around the ball, taking too long to steady himself and he eventually drags the shot back towards the recovering defenders to clear.
On his stronger side, Jackson generally strikes with power. His technique can be inconsistent — he sometimes leans back slightly when he strikes, occasionally to adjust his body and approaches shots at the wrong angle — but the volume of opportunities he carves out with his drastic movement allows him to keep up a good scoring rate.
The chaos that follows Jackson around can see some incredible moments of poor fortune too, but when he does get it right, as he did below for the opener against Everton in April, he is a force to be reckoned with.
The decisive goal. 🎯#CFC | #CHEEVE pic.twitter.com/KDY4n6dxdI
— Chelsea FC (@ChelseaFC) April 26, 2025
Premier League rivals will likely need to pay a premium for Jackson's services. While he is not yet a polished, clinical finisher at the highest level of the game, he makes things happen more relentlessly than many other players in world football.
For a team willing to show patience in Jackson, the potential reward is clear.