Jackson tells Chelsea he wants to go

Just imagine how many goals Nicolas Jackson would have scored if he had converted the chances his Chelsea teammates created for him. Probably no one would be questioning his status, Chelsea wouldn’t be bringing in Liam Delap (as if he’s a guaranteed source of more goals), and Enzo Maresca wouldn’t now see Joao Pedro as the solution in attack. On YouTube, there are multi-minute compilations of the Senegal international’s misses, and that’s one of the main reasons why the former Villarreal striker has been put on the discard list — and why his departure from Stamford Bridge is looking increasingly likely.

Chelsea have earned 231,000,000 euros from player sales only in this transfer window, and Jackson will most likely follow that path. British media report that the Senegalese forward has asked to leave the club amid interest from Newcastle. Enzo Maresca doesn’t want Jackson in the squad — something that was clear in the friendly match against Bayer Leverkusen, where the striker wasn’t even on the bench. Nicolas is currently training separately from the team, awaiting the outcome of the situation. Neither he wants to stay in London, nor does Chelsea want to keep him, and on top of that, the club is negotiating with Manchester United for Alejandro Garnacho and with RB Leipzig for Xavi Simons. Still, the Europa Conference League winner won’t be let go at any price — Jackson is reportedly valued at 90,000,000, as if he had scored 50 goals over two seasons rather than 24. The club’s hierarchy is aware that this figure is excessive, and there’s a possibility they might settle for 75,000,000 — still far too much for a player who doesn’t guarantee 20 goals a season.

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Newcastle desperately need a striker, especially since they failed to sign Benjamin Sesko, were turned down by Goncalo Ramos, and are still in talks for Yoane Wissa, with Alexander Isak’s future uncertain. But the situation is not clear at St. James Park. If Jackson was to arrive, he would be seen as Isak’s long-term replacement, and many inside the club believe that he is far from that level, especially with this price tag. So Newcastle’s stance would change if he becomes availabe in the region of 50 million, which is not going to happen (at least for now). Aside from Newcastle, Napoli and Milan had shown interest in Jackson earlier, but both have since turned to other targets. In any case, the Senegalese striker isn’t in a good position. A record of 65 matches and 24 goals doesn’t look bad — if you’ve been playing for a lower-table team. Chelsea and Newcastle, however, are a different kind of clubs. Chelsea paid Villarreal 37,000,000 for Jackson and gave him an eight-year contract. Now they’re doing everything they can to get rid of him after just two years. That says something.