Nicolas Jackson is pushing hard to leave Chelsea this summer and he could be followed out of Stamford Bridge by several other players including Ben Chilwell and Raheem Sterling, as per reports.
Jackson was Chelsea’s main centre-forward last summer, as shown by the fact he made 37 appearances in all competitions and chipped in with 13 goals. Chelsea have always rated Jackson highly and placed their trust in him to become a top-class No 9, though they still wanted to land another striker going into the current transfer window.
Liam Delap and Joao Pedro have since arrived at Chelsea from Ipswich Town and Brighton & Hove Albion respectively. Jackson has not reacted well to these signings, knowing he will fall down the pecking order.
Indeed, when Delap made his first competitive start for Chelsea against Flamengo in the Club World Cup, Jackson came off the bench only to get sent off four minutes later.
According to numerous sources including Fabrizio Romano, BBC Sport and The Guardian, Jackson has told Chelsea he wants to leave permanently this summer.
Following his transfer request, Enzo Maresca decided to leave the Senegal international out of his squad for the 2-0 pre-season win over Bayer Leverkusen on Friday.
When asked about Jackson, Maresca told reporters: “When the transfer window is open, unfortunately or fortunately, anything can happen.
“This also involves Nico’s situation. At the moment we also had two strikers arrive, Joao and Liam. So we will see what happens.”
Romano added that ‘it’s over’ between Jackson and Chelsea, despite the previous faith the club has shown in him.
The Guardian describe Newcastle as ‘favourites’ for Jackson amid their search for Alexander Isak’s replacement up front.
TEAMtalk understands Newcastle have opened talks with Jackson’s agent. Although, they are also keen on other strikers such as Wolverhampton Wanderers’ Jorgen Strand Larsen and Porto’s Samu Aghehowa.
Should Newcastle prioritise other options, then Jackson could look to join Tottenham Hotspur as a replacement for Richarlison, Bayern Munich, or a club in Italy. AC Milan and Juventus have previously expressed interest in him.
Romano states that Chilwell, Sterling, Christopher Nkunku, Axel Disasi and Renato Veiga are all ‘expected to leave’ before the September 1 deadline, too.
Chelsea once again have a bloated squad following a host of new arrivals and need to trim it down so Maresca can work well with a core group.
Fulham have opened talks for Sterling as they view his £20m price tag as a potential bargain. TEAMtalk understands Nkunku has said yes to Bayern Munich as he is hopeful of returning to Germany.
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Petrovic, Madueke and Felix have all left Chelsea
Chilwell’s next destination is unclear as he failed to make a big impact while on loan at Crystal Palace in the second half of last season.
Chelsea have been working hard to sell players in deals that boost their own transfer budget.
Djorjde Petrovic, Bashir Humphrey, Kepa Arrizabalaga, Noni Madueke, Joao Felix, Ishe Samuels-Smith, Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall, Lesley Ugochukwu and Armando Broja have all been sold already.
The biggest of those sales was Madueke, who joined rivals Arsenal for an initial £48m plus £4m in add-ons.
Chelsea transfer news: Second striker exit; Barcelona rumour
Jackson is not the only striker who has been cleared to leave Chelsea.
David Datro Fofana is also on the market and TEAMtalk sources have clarified Wolves’ intentions.
Plus, Chelsea have been tipped to move for a Barcelona defender after losing Levi Colwill to an ACL injury.
POLL: What level is Jackson good enough for?