Nicolas Jackson has revealed he wants to hear people say bad things about him and claimed it helps him on the pitch.
Jackson has played a key role in Chelsea’s strong start to the season and has eight goals and three assists in 14 Premier League appearances.
The 23-year-old has shown huge improvement under Enzo Maresca, especially with his finishing and he’s key to how the Blues play under the Italian.
Jackson likes hearing people criticise him
A lot was made of Chelsea not signing a striker in the summer having pursued Victor Osimhen for the majority of the window, whilst a deal for Samu Omorodion also collapsed at the last minute.
Jackson has shown he can be the main striker at Chelsea and the Blues clearly believe in him, with a report last month stating they believe the Senegal international is one of the top three strikers in the league.
Nicolas Jackson plays Crystal Palace. (Photo by Ryan Pierse/Getty Images)
Jackson has scored eight Premier League goals this season. (Photo by Ryan Pierse/Getty Images)
Maresca has stated on multiple occasions this season how happy he is with Jackson, and the criticism he faced last season has been replaced by praise after his impressive start.
Jackson wasn’t happy with his performance against Tottenham on Sunday and was visibly frustrated after coming off, which is a great attitude to see.
You have to have thick skin as a footballer and the majority will look to block out the criticism in the media, but Jackson has revealed he loves hearing it, and that that it helps him on the pitch.
“I want to hear people say bad things about me, criticise me on the pitch, it’s nice, it helps you, I love this you know,” he told the Premier League’s Big Interview.
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A Chelsea flag in the evening at Stamford Bridge.
Arne Slot pictured during Liverpool's win over Real Madrid. (Photo by Justin Setterfield/Getty Images)
A generic interior view of Stamford Bridge. (Photo by Richard Pelham/Getty Images)
It can certainly go one of two ways and some players will find it hard to hear criticism, but it seems that Jackson has the right attitude and thrives off it which is great to see.
Jackson at £32m is certainly looking like a bargain right now and if he keeps developing like he has been Chelsea could have found themselves a 20 goals a season forward, which is very difficult to do and usually very expensive.