Nicolas Jackson has been a constant threat in the first five Premier League games for the Blues this season. Wearing Didier Drogba’s first Chelsea number, 15, could he leave his mark at Stamford Bridge just as his fellow African did?
Nicolas Jackson Reborn Under Enzo Maresca
An Impressive Start to the Season
Chelsea fans would have entered the season sceptical about the attack; the only real dangerman being Cole Palmer who accumulated 33 goals and assists in the Premier League last season. After a poor attacking display in pre-season where Chelsea only scored a total of ten goals in seven games vs the likes of Wrexham, Club America and Celtic it wasn’t looking bright.
Moving into the season, the opening game for Chelsea was a home match vs The Champions, Manchester City; the game ended 0-2 and Nicholas Jackson had failed to impress in the big moments yet again, as the pressure had mounted on the striker amid interest from Chelsea towards Victor Osimhen of Napoli. Ex-Chelsea player John Obi-Mikel was quick to criticise the forward stating: “you need a striker who knows how to hit the ball in the back of the net and that’s what we don’t have… I think at Chelsea Football Club we need a top striker who can get us a goal”.
Hitting Back
Jackson knew he would have to impress in the next game vs Wolves, which is exactly what he did; opening the scoring after just 2 minutes at The Molineux with an instinctive back-post header. He assisted the second of the game with a clever flick to knock the ball into the path of Palmer on the break, and the game ended 2-6 to Chelsea as it appeared that the whole front-line may flourish under Maresca with the other goals coming from Pedro Neto and a Noni Madueke hattrick.
After the game Jackson took to social media to respond to his critics, showing a potential rise in confidence and belief in himself, he posted a story aimed at Mikel: “shut your mouth”. Many branded this as refreshing to see, as a footballer was finally hitting back at the critics.
This form continued for Jackson into Gameweek 3, scoring a goal assisted by a squared Palmer pass in a 1-1 draw vs Crystal Palace. Unfortunately for Jackson, in Gameweek 4, a poor performance vs Bournemouth left him without a goal contribution with Chelsea narrowly winning 1-0 in a poor overall performance.
Nicolas Jackson Secures His Spot
Heading into Gameweek Five, Chelsea faced a tough test, West Ham who were also under the new management of Julen Lopetegui. In previous years Chelsea had struggled vs The Hammers, especially at the London Stadium where they hadn’t won since April 2021. Jackson came into this unphased: he had already scored two goals vs them at Stamford Bridge last season so he knew how to grab a goal vs the East London side.
He had to show that class again with Christopher Nkunku breathing down his neck for the starting spot after his late winner vs Bournemouth. After just four minutes the Senegalese marksman was already on the scoresheet after making a lovely run down the left flank that was found by a ball through from another improved player, Jadon Sancho.
Chelsea scored a second in the 18th minute, once again via Jackson with a perfectly placed strike with the outside of his boot to the bottom left corner after a run he made through the middle was spotted by Moises Caicedo. Jackson topped off a stellar MOTM performance with an assist on a counter attack for Palmer which left Chelsea winning 0-3 in the 47th minute. The scoreline remained the same and Jackson had scored two goals and grabbed an assist with an expected goals (Xg) of just 0.8 and expected assisted goals (xGA) of only 0.4.
Contrast to Last Season
Has Jackson really improved so far in contrast to the 23/24 season? The answer is yes! Despite achieving 14 Premier League goals and five assists last season, the “broken” star was very wasteful with his chances with an xG of 18.3; a 4.3 difference, proving his underperformance. On the other hand, so far this season Jackson has 4 goals and 2 assists in 5 matches with an xG of 3.3 and an xAG of 0.8 which helps prove the fact the 23-year-old is improving.
Chelsea could have a real star on their hands if he keeps improving at this rate and staying consistent with the belief in himself and his performances.
