Chelsea has experienced a very bumpy Club World Campaign to date, as an opening victory against LAFC was then rudely met by a shock 3-1 defeat at the hands of Flamengo.
It was far from the most convincing or eye-catching win against LAFC, but it was a win nonetheless for Enzo Maresca's men to get up and running in the tournament.
Enzo-Maresca
However, from a Blues point of view, any slight grievances that were kept under wraps after the underwhelming victory in Atlanta have now come to the surface, with Maresca worrying already that his current squad might not be cut out for a higher finish than fourth position next time out in the Premier League.
Indeed, a sprinkling of upgrades is now desperately needed all across the pitch, with Robert Sanchez alarmingly conceding three goals to Filipe Luis' men.
Moreover, Nicolas Jackson would only find himself battling in the Philadelphia heat for a matter of minutes before he was sent off, with it being well known that Chelsea are chasing after the services of Eintracht Frankfurt star Hugo Ekitike this summer.
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Jackson certainly didn't boost his chances of a long-term Blues future by getting involved in this moment of madness, as the ex-Villarreal man begins to stare the exit door more and more in the face after a challenging few seasons in the English game.
Chelsea are no strangers to high-profile flops taking place in the striker department; however, with Romelu Lukaku failing to ever settle in West London himself over two mostly unmemorable stints.
romelu-lukaku for Chelsea
What went wrong for Lukaku at Chelsea
In total, the Belgian - who was purchased for a mighty £97.5m to begin his second spell - would only go on to score just a slim 15 total goals for Chelsea from 59 games.
There was a lot of notable fanfare surrounding Lukaku on his return to England in 2021, with that mammoth price tag not helping matters whatsoever, on top of his then bumper 64-goal tally for Inter Milan meaning the world was anticipated of him.
Instead, only eight more strikes were added to his already weak Blues back catalogue, with the 6-foot-3 flop also not helping matters on his end when publicly declaring a desire to return back to Inter just a matter of months into his cursed Chelsea stay.
Lukaku Chelsea record stats
Their patience wore very thin, therefore, with it being a big relief at Stamford Bridge when the long-standing Belgian international moved back to Italy after years of inconsistent form and that infamous interview.
Chelsea's new Lukaku
Lukaku isn't the only notable striker flop at Stamford Bridge or the last, with recent years seeing the Blues buy Timo Werner and Fernando Torres, among other costly slip-ups.
However, in the case of Jackson, there are certainly some similarities here. The 24-year-old does actually boast seven more strikes than the wasteful Werner at a respectable 30, with the Senegalese attacker only 15 shy of Torres' total, too.
Incredibly, Jackson has even doubled Lukaku's slim amount too, despite receiving notable pelters for his off-performances.
He's not quite tainted his Chelsea stay in a similar fashion just yet - minus his recent dismissal irking Blues fans - but it's clear that the ex-Villarreal man might be on borrowed time himself and could be put out of his misery shortly, much like Lukaku last summer.
Chelsea-Nicolas-Jackson
After all, when Jackson entered Stamford Bridge back in the summer of 2023 for £30m, there would have been the same buzz in the air that was around when Lukaku first relocated to West London from Anderlecht.
Indeed, he had just moved to England off the back of bagging a promising 12 La Liga strikes for Villarreal. But, for as much as he has gone on to score that aforementioned tally of 30 goals for the Blues, other numbers away from just this output alone are worrying to read.
Jackson's league numbers for Chelsea
Stat
Games played
Goals scored
Assists
Big chances missed
Big chances created
Stats by Sofascore
Looking at the numbers above, Jackson has staggeringly spurned 43 big chances over his two Chelsea seasons, meaning his goal tally could well be even heftier now if he possessed more accuracy.
He could well be more suited to hone his craft where the spotlight isn't so intensely focused on him, with Chelsea maybe having another Lukaku on their hands in terms of a striker being able to set other European leagues alight, whilst never being able to fully settle in West London, frustratingly.
After all, it has now been reported that Jackson could follow Lukaku's footsteps very closely by moving out to Italy.
Indeed, a report from Sky Italia - which has been relayed by Sky Sports - indicates that Jackson might be on the move in the coming weeks or months.
Sky Italia alleges that both Juventus and Napoli are intrigued by the prospect of landing the hit-and-miss 24-year-old at some point this summer, although his wages and transfer fee might well be a problem to cough up.
On the contrary, opposing information coming out of Stamford Bridge itself seems to indicate that Chelsea do want to keep their £100k-per-week hotshot around, even as suitors from Saudi Arabia and the Premier League circle.
If Jackson does up and leave - for as much as he has irritated and irked Chelsea supporters over his hot-and-cold stint to date - he could go on to be a rip-roaring success elsewhere like the much-talked-about Belgian.
Chelsea-Romelu-Lukaku
After all, it's not as if Jackson isn't getting into worthwhile goalscoring positions for Chelsea, with the 24-year-old's barrage of missed chances coming off the back of him being able to find space.
Lukaku also spurned many a big chance when failing to get going in the Premier League, as seen in his tally of 15 big chances being missed during the 2018/19 season.
nicolas-jackson-chelsea
Therefore, in an environment that isn't so intense, Jackson could go on to find his goalscoring groove even more, much like Lukaku has managed when plying his trade in Italy.
Lukaku record by season after second Chelsea stint
Season
24/25
23/24
22/23
Sourced by Transfermarkt
Lukaku has certainly lived up to the "world-class" billing thrust his way by England manager Thomas Tuchel playing for Napoli, AS Roma, and Inter Milan since his disastrous Blues goodbye, with 49 goals powered home by the long-standing Belgian international across 122 clashes.
Jackson would hope for similar rich veins of form if he soon swapped West London for either Juventus or Napoli, with the 6-foot-2 striker also praised in a glowing manner to Lukaku in the past, having been heralded as "special" by football analyst Rahman Osman when previously shining at Stamford Bridge.
It would be a sad ending for Jackson if he were to shortly head to a new club, with his reckless red card against Flamengo stealing all the headlines, over his prior goalscoring exploits in West London.
But, as has been shown in Lukaku's own up-and-down story, a move out to Europe could be his best possible next step if he is to depart.
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