Nicolas Jackson’s goal against Newcastle yesterday was not one of the harder one’s he will score.
Pedro Neto, set free by Cole Palmer’s brilliant long pass, raced clear of the Magpies defence, and squared the ball back for Jackson to tap in. It was a landmark 20th Premier League goal for the young striker, in his 44th game.
Incredibly, that means Jackson has reached 20 goals faster than all but 4 players in the club’s history.
Diego Costa did it in an incredible 26 games. Not only was he a great striker, he also slotted in to a team that was already top level and ready to push for a title.
Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink did it in 27 games, a pretty amazing feat especially given it was at a time when goals were harder to come by.
Next up is wonderboy Cole Palmer (33 games), who reached 20 at the end of his first season. There were plenty of penalties in there for Cole (and if Jackson had been taking them he would have been significantly higher up this list). Then the rather unexpected name of Mark Stein on 37 games, before we reach Jackson on 44.
Jackson in esteemed company at the top of Chelsea’s goal list
The Senegal star has therefore hit his 20 goal mark before the likes of Hernan Crespo, Eidur Gudjohnsen, Tammy Abraham and Didier Drogba. It’s another great marker of the success he’s having, especially as a young player adapting to the Premier League.
He had only played one full season in La Liga before moving let’s not forget. And he’s still getting better and better. If we zoom out a bit and think about Chelsea players reaching 50 goals, we reckon Jackson at his current rate could climb even higher up the list by that point.
