Villarreal star Alex Baena has been speaking about his former teammate Nicolas Jackson and the fantastic season that he is having at Chelsea.
Alex Baena and Nicolas Jackson played alongside each other at Villarreal until the striker decided to leave the Spanish club for Chelsea last summer.
He had a good debut season, scoring 17 goals in all competitions, and has really kicked on this term. In 13 Premier League appearances, Jackson has netted eight times.
He could add to that on Wednesday when his side take on Southampton at St Mary’s, but some Chelsea fans would like to see Jackson rested ahead of Sunday’s clash against Tottenham Hotspur. The 23-year-old is one yellow card away from suspension.
Nicolas Jackson celebrates with Alex Baena of Villarreal after scoring their team's first goal during the UEFA Europa Conference League group C ma...
Photo by Sebastian Widmann – UEFA/UEFA via Getty Images
Alex Baena on Nicolas Jackson
Jackson is a player Baena knows well after spending time with him at Villarreal. And according to the Spanish attacker, his ball control has really improved this season.
Speaking to talkSPORT about his former teammate, Baena said: “We were together for three or four years here at Villarreal. He’s a fantastic guy, a great person. We’ve had a great connection off the pitch. On the pitch, he’s always asked to improve his quality to be able to associate with his teammates.
“I think he’s improved a lot this year. He’s improved his ball control and his connection with his teammates. He’s got a great potential and he’s been showing it this year. He’s scored a lot of goals.”
The Senegal international’s finishing has also improved. Right now, Jackson has the best shot conversion rate in the Premier League out of players who have taken 25 shots or more.
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Baena is not the only person at Villarreal who has been speaking about Jackson. The club’s director of football Miguel Angel Tena has also been discussing the Chelsea forward.
He told talkSPORT that what Jackson is doing in the Premier League is a source of pride for Villarreal.
“He is scoring many goals, which is one of his main characteristics, and for us that is a pride, because he is a player who has been trained in the lower divisions, who has reached the first team and who is competing at a great level in the Premier League,” Tena said.
If Villarreal knew that Jackson was going to develop at this rate, then they probably would have given him a release clause larger than £30m.
With Chelsea paying just over that to structure the deal in a more favourable way for them, Jackson will go down as a bargain. Still just 23, he has time to get even better, but Enzo Maresca can be satisfied with where Jackson is now as he continues to lead his line successfully.
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