Chelsea striker Nicolas Jackson has been approached by one of two interested Serie A sides with Champions League football on offer, according to an Italian expert, which comes just after a former player told him he ‘should not be at’ the club after his red card in the Club World Cup.
Jackson made the headlines for all the wrong reasons from Chelsea’s loss to Flamengo on Friday. The 24-year-old got a red card just four minutes after coming off the bench for starting striker Liam Delap, who was bought from Ipswich Town recently to compete for his role as Chelsea’s starting striker.
With 24 goals from his first two seasons in the Premier League, Jackson’s suitability for the main centre-forward role at Chelsea has come into question. His bad challenge leading to his dismissal against Flamengo won’t have helped his case for having a long-term Chelsea future, despite his contract lasting until 2033.
And after the game, former Chelsea midfielder John Obi Mikel stressed that Jackson should leave the club if he isn’t willing to share starting duties with Delap.
Mikel told DAZN: “If you’re angry, if you’re p***ed off that Delap has come onto the club and he’s going to be the competition with you, you have to embrace it if you are a big player. Because the only way we win trophies is if the competition is there.
“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.”
Now, Mikel might be interested to learn that Jackson has been attracting interest from two Italian teams – with one already putting feelers out for his transfer.
According to Gianluca Di Marzio, Jackson is ‘no longer untouchable’ for Chelsea and is generating interest from abroad.
Specifically, Juventus believe he has the traits they’re looking for in a new striker. With that in mind, they have reportedly ‘sounded him out’ and held ‘exploratory talks’.
Nicolas Jackson transfer news: Juventus not alone in pursuit
In addition to Juventus, the other Italian team interested in Jackson is Napoli.
Antonio Conte’s side are looking for a striker to add to their Scudetto-winning squad, to compete with Romelu Lukaku.
Napoli’s pursuit doesn’t seem to be as advanced as Juventus’, though, since Di Marzio states they have simply taken in some information about the Senegal international.
After all, Napoli have already been working on moves for Liverpool striker Darwin Nunez or Udinese’s Lorenzo Lucca.
Given that, Juventus are currently deemed to be in the lead for Jackson.
There’s no mention by Di Marzio of Jackson’s surprise links with Manchester United, which have cropped up on some English websites over the past few weeks.
A departure from the Premier League altogether could be in the pipeline instead for the former Villarreal frontman, who would be able to play in the Champions League for either Juventus or Napoli after they both finished in the top four of Serie A last season.
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Nicolas Jackson stats: 2024-25 Premier League form
Nicolas Jackson 2024-25 Premier League stats: Appearances 30 Goals 10 Assists 5 Big chances missed 19 Offsides 23 Times tackled 73 Aerial duel success 37.9%
Nicolas Jackson 2024-25 Premier League stats