Once the final whistle blew at Villa Park on Saturday afternoon, many Newcastle United fans will have felt that by the time of us kicking off against Liverpool, a new striker would have been signed and potentially available for the big game.
Unfortunately, and perhaps predictably, that hasn’t been the case. Instead, it feels like we’ve been in a cycle of being linked to the few select strikers available on the market over and over again.
Whether it’s a failed £40m bid for Yoane Wissa or fresh rumours surrounding Jørgen Strand Larsen, we’re still no closer to finding out who will lead the line for us for the majority of the 2025/26 campaign.
Nicolas Jackson remains an option, however, and with his time at Chelsea coming to an end this summer, we look to be one of three teams in the mix…
According to Fabrizio Romano, Newcastle have been back in contact over a move for Nicolas Jackson in recent days.
Of the interested clubs, Aston Villa look to be leading the race, with Romano commenting: “they (Aston Villa) have been trying in recent days to push. They’ve made contact with all parties involved in the recent hours.”
In a positive update on X, however, Romano relays that Newcastle are still interested in the Senegalese striker, stating that ourselves and Bayern Munich have ‘called again in the last 48 hours’ over the Chelsea forward who
Speaking on his Youtube channel on Thursday night, he said:
“Aston Villa are pushing – Unai Emery was the coach of Nicolas Jackson at Villarreal – but there are more clubs interested.
“Newcastle are still there. Newcastle are still interested in Nicolas Jackson. That is going to be an important story to follow over the final days of the window.
“Aston Villa, Newcastle…but we have to also had the strong interest coming from Bayern. They (Bayern) are closely monitoring the situation.”
The most credible contender on the continent to sign Jackson is Bayern Munich, who like us have also called to enquire about Jackson’s services.
Elsewhere, AC Milan and Napoli have each expressed some interest, but Jackson appears too expensive for either Italian giant, seeing Milan pivot to Victor Boniface and Napoli eye Man Utd’s Rasmus Hojlund.
🚨👀 There’s big movements ongoing around Nico Jackson, he’s definitely set to leave Chelsea very soon.
Understand Newcastle and Bayern have both called again in last 48h, Aston Villa pushing as Unai Emery wants him.
Decision soon.
🎥 https://t.co/u8VBmMOy1S pic.twitter.com/BxITLJTlsa
— Fabrizio Romano (@FabrizioRomano) August 21, 2025
No matter where Nicolas Jackson goes this summer, even with the remote chance he stays at Stamford Bridge, he will be enjoying European football next season in some capacity, you would think.
Aston Villa, though they can’t offer Champions League football like ourselves and Bayern Munich, do have the Unai Emery factor: having previously been at Villarreal together, Romano describes the pair as having an “excellent” relationship.
If Champions League football is an absolute non-negotiable for Jackson, however, then we could have a slight edge: with Alexander Isak currently on strike, the no.9 spot is ready for the taking for any striker on the planet, including Jackson.
At Vincent Kompany’s Bayern side, Jackson would have the unenviable task of trying to start ahead of Harry Kane, who has been breaking records in the Bundesliga ever since his arrival.
With just over a week until the window shuts, if we’re really serious about lodging a bid for Jackson, then it’s imperative that he comes in before the international break so Howe has time to work with him. And in an ideal world, he’d be available in time to play against Leeds in our last game of August.