Nicolas Jackson sends message to Chelsea over transfer exit

Chelsea striker Nicolas Jackson (Picture: Getty)

Nicolas Jackson is keen to remain at Chelsea and fight for his place under Xabi Alonso this season, according to reports.

Jackson scored 24 goals in his first two Premier League seasons after arriving from Villarreal for £32million in June 2023.

But following the arrivals of Joao Pedro and Liam Delap last summer, Jackson was sent on loan to Bayern Munich , where he largely served as a backup to Harry Kane .

After that unproductive spell in Germany, the Senegal striker has now returned to Chelsea, but faces somewhat of an uncertain future at Stamford Bridge.

Emmanuel Emegha and Danny Welbeck have both joined Chelsea this summer to further bolster Alonso’s options in attack, with players expected to make way in the coming weeks to streamline the Spaniard’s squads.

Chelsea are said to value Jackson at £65m, with Aston Villa and Newcastle United both said to have made approaches for the Senegalese international.

But according to The Sun , Jackson is hoping to stay put and fight for his place as Chelsea bid to return to the Champions League after their dismal tenth-place finish last campaign.

Nicolas Jackson has been linked with Aston Villa (Picture: Shutterstock)

The report adds that the 25-year-old has ‘enjoyed’ working under new Blues boss Alonso and is keen to continue if given the opportunity to stay at the club beyond the summer transfer window.

Speaking earlier in the pre-season when asked about Jackson’s future, Alonso said: ‘Yes, Nico is a great player.

‘He’s a threat to play against any defence, so we want to have players that can compete, and Nico for sure is one of them.

‘We need to go day by day checking options, but we are happy that Nico is with us.’

Danny Welbeck is the latest striker to arrive at Chelsea (Picture: Getty)

But the Spaniard has also hinted that his squad needs trimming, adding: ‘We need proper balance in terms of qualities, in terms of positions, in terms of balance.

‘We want to have a complete squad and we want to make a good team.’

Villa could still make a bid for Jackson in a move that would reunite the striker with Unai Emery after the pair worked together at Villarreal.

But elsewhere, former Manchester United striker Quinton Fortune has urged the Red Devils to consider a move for Jackson to provide Benjamin Sesko with some added support up front.

‘He’s coming off his loan at Bayern Munich and keeps getting clubs so he must have something,’ Fortune told Premier Bet .

‘I see him as more of a goal poacher. If you look at the purest of the pure footballers, he’s not a striker to bring it down and play it like Dimitar Berbatov or Wayne Rooney or Dwight Yorke but that’s what I like about him too.

‘He’s just an out-and-out striker. He doesn’t really care about anything else apart from getting into the box and getting on the end of whatever service he’s provided, and there’s nothing wrong with that. That’s still the hardest part of the game.

‘He’s almost like Erling Haaland at times and he shouldn’t get involved in the play so much. Tell the other guys they can do all the hard work and I’ll score the goals.

‘Whether he’s right for United, I don’t know about that, but you don’t play for Chelsea and Bayern Munich if you haven’t got something about you.’