Chelsea striker Nicolas Jackson has revealed how close he came to reuniting with Unai Emery at Aston Villa.
The 23-year-old earned his Villarreal debut under Emery and soon led the line for the Spanish club. In his breakthrough season, Jackson ended with a flurry of nine goals in 11 games, which persuaded Chelsea to spend £30million on the young forward in June 2023. Still, the Senegal international could have easily missed out on his move to Stamford Bridge.
Spotting his potential early on, Bournemouth had agreed to sign Jackson in January before the move fell through. However, the striker had hoped to link back up with Emery in the first few months of his Villa tenure, only for a hamstring issue to scupper those plans.
“When Unai left, he wanted me to go to Aston Villa, but I was injured,” Jackson admitted. “I wanted to leave because the coach came in. I had to go, but I was injured a little bit in my hamstring. We went there, they checked and said I needed one more month and they want me now.
“If they want me in one week, two weeks, I was not ready, so they had to cancel the transfer, and I went back.”
“When I went back, I was very angry,” he added. “Not angry I didn’t sign because when we were on the plane, I told my friend, ‘Don’t worry, better things will come and that’s life.’ Then I started working more to play with Villarreal. When I came back, I think I scored 12 goals in two months.”
Nicolas Jackson
Nicolas Jackson scored against Aston Villa earlier this season (Image: Darren Walsh/Chelsea FC via Getty Images)
After ending his time at Villarreal with a flourish, Jackson also became aware of the interest of AC Milan and ultimately signed up for Chelsea. He finished his debut season with 17 goals and has reached new heights this term, scoring eight in 14 league games. Jackson credits his earlier transfer frustrations with helping him become the player who is now starring for Enzo Maresca’s side.
“I think that’s the most important thing in life, that the people that you have near you, especially football players, are people that try to help you to be the best, not do whatever you want,” Jackson explained. “I was flying for that two or three months [with Villarreal], I was scoring every weekend.
“After that, I knew what I had to do to be what I wanted to be. Then I came to Chelsea and it’s a different club, with the pressure and everything, but now I’m feeling better and as I’m playing I’m getting more experience.”