The truth as Aston Villa are once again linked with an ambitious swoop for Chelsea striker Nicolas Jackson.
Aston Villa are once again being linked with Chelsea striker Nicolas Jackson, who is looking increasingly likely to leave Stamford Bridge before the end of the transfer window.
Jackson, who worked with Unai Emery at Villarreal, has been of interest to Villa for several years. Links to the forward simply won’t go away this summer due to the fact that Chelsea, delighted with Joao Pedro and Liam Delap as their new striking duo, now see Jackson as surplus to requirements.
Newcastle United, currently in a tug-of-war with star striker Alexander Isak over a potential record transfer to Liverpool, are considering Jackson after being let down in pursuit of several centre-forward targets. Benjamin Sesko opted for Manchester United, Hugo Ekitike chose Anfield over St. James’ Park and Pedro signed for Chelsea, among others.
‘Aston Villa add Nicolas Jackson to shortlist’
Following up on their long-standing interest, Villa are said have made contact with Chelsea to formally register an interest in Jackson. Sky Germany reporter Florian Plettenberg claims Villa have been monitoring Jackson’s situation and have now officially added him to their shortlist.
It’s reported Villa are ‘now there’ and that talks have already taken place over his potential arrival. Several other clubs are keen, too, including German Bundesliga giants Bayern Munich. According to widespread reports elsewhere, Newcastle are considering Jackson as an option.
Since signing from Villarreal for around £31.8 million in 2023, Jackson has scored 30 goals and provided 12 assists in 81 appearances across all competitions. In the Premier League, the 14-time Senegal international has contributed 24 goals and 10 assists in 65 outings.
The truth as Nicolas Jackson linked with Aston Villa
Despite this news coming from a reliable source, Birmingham World understands Villa are unable to make any more big-money signings this summer and therefore a move for Jackson is effectively impossible. Evann Guessand, who recently signed for a fee of £30 million inclusive of add-ons, is expected to be Villa’s most lucrative signing of the summer, with any other business to be conducted at cheaper rates.
As Chelsea are looking for £65 million to sell Jackson, as per Metro Sport, the striker is simply out of reach. Even if he was available for half of that figure, Villa would still struggle to get the deal over the line as they have made assurances to UEFA that they are trying to cut expenditure - not increase it - to avoid further breaches of the squad cost rules (SCR).
A source close to Villa has confirmed Jackson is a player who continues to be admired by Emery but a move - this summer at least - can be ruled out. If Villa do recruit, the priority is to sign an attacking midfielder and a right-sided defender. With that in mind, talks are understood to be progressing over the return of Marco Asensio from Paris Saint-Germain.
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