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John Obi Mikel has hit out at Nicolas Jackson and urged the striker to fight for his place at Chelsea. The former player opined that the Senegal star wants to be the main man but should be ready to make the most of the competition with Liam Delap.
Speaking on DAZN, Mikel remarked that Jackson should not be with the Blues if he is afraid of competition. He wants the striker to embrace the battle with Delap or leave the club. He said (via Metro):
"Nicolas Jackson needs to have a word with himself on where he sees his Chelsea career going on from here. The manager has brought in a striker in Delap. If the manager starts to doubt you, thinking 'do I still trust this guy' and he keeps making mistakes and letting the club down, he will think do I stick with the player I brought into the football club in Delap."
"So the manager has a decision to make because you can’t keep putting him in and letting the team down. If he doesn’t trust him then it is time for Delap to start the games. He [Jackson] wants to be the only guy, playing every game. No, we need healthy competition to win trophies moving forward, challenging for titles. And if he is not ready for it then he should not be at Chelsea football club," he added.
Nicolas Jackson has been the main striker for the Blues over the last two seasons and has scored 30 goals in 80 matches for the Blues.
Chelsea hero slams Nicolas Jackson for red card against Flamengo in Club World Cup
John Obi Mikel slammed Nicolas Jackson after he received a red card in Chelsea's 3-1 loss to Flamengo in the Club World Cup on Friday (June 20).
Speaking on DAZN, the former player claimed that it was a 'stupid mistake' and that he should have held himself together as his team needed him on the pitch. He said (via Metro):
"Unbelievable, a stupid, stupid, stupid mistake you can make. I don’t know what is going through his head. You come into the game with your side 2-1 down. Your team needs you and he does that. He did that in the league game against Newcastle, a very important game which we needed to get into the Champions League and he got a red card. Now he is has done it again."
Chelsea were down 2-1 when Enzo Maresca sent Nicolas Jackson on for Liam Delap. The striker got himself sent off within minutes and the Blues lost 3-1.
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Sripad is a veteran Sportskeeda football journalist who has been with the company for around 10 years. His tryst with writing happened in class XI when he started penning blogs, and his foray into football was during the early 2000s, watching matches with his cousins.
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If given a chance to change a football rule, Sripad wants VAR to be fully automated and offside rules to be less stringent. When not working, he likes to watch past Formula 1 races and play FIFA.
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Edited by Parag Jain