It's been many years since Chelsea last had a consistent top-level goalscorer, but following their off-season spending spree, they may have stumbled upon one in Nicolas Jackson.
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Perhaps it can be argued that Diego Costa was the last great striker who took to the pitch for the Blues, but while he scored in almost every other game, the Brazil-born attacker never had the longevity a player such as Didier Drogba. Ever since the Ivorian's first departure from Chelsea, the west Londoners have relied on their goalscoring from other parts of the pitch, with the exception of Costa's stint, and this is something that came to bite them last season as they struggled in front of goal.
However, the club will be hoping they have finally remedied that with the acquisition of their new Senegalese marksman from Villarreal.
The origin story
After announcing himself to the world in November 2018, when he was called up to the Young Lions of Teranga, the then-teenager ditched the Senegal Premier League's Casa Sports shortly after for a move to Villarreal. Not much was made of the attacker's arrival the Estadio de la Ceramica, though, with the Yellow Submarine not even bothering to announce his signing. At first, it seemed as though the LALIGA giants were justified in their decision to be mute about the Gambia-born striker's arrival following his slow start to life in the famous yellow shirt. Jackson subsequently went out on loan to second division side Mirandes, where he was not particularly successful either, and the then-20-year-old returned to the Valencian side with much to prove.
However, after returning to El Submarino Amarillo, the pacey attacker hit the ground running and has seemingly never looked back. After seven goals and eight assists in all competitions in the 2021/22 campaign for Villarreal's B side, manager Unai Emery decided to give the youngster minutes in the Spanish top flight, as well as a full debut for the club in a 2-1 Copa del Rey loss to Sporting Gijon.
From budding prospect to star
The world started paying attention to the Spanish giants' young star. The 2021/22 season gave him the platform to make the immense leap to becoming a fully-fledged member of the club's first team and he grabbed that opportunity with both hands. On the opening day of the 2022/23 LALIGA season, the electric forward was found unmarked at the back post and slotted in to open the scoring in a 3-0 win over Real Valladolid.
Maintaining this good start to life as a starter in an Emery team proved difficult, though, and the striker would only find the back of the net once more in the next 14 games before being sidelined by a hip injury. This may have proved a blessing in disguise, however, because the Senegalese would come back to prolific form for the Quique Setien-led outfit. In the final 11 games of the league season, Jackson found the back of the net 10 times as he finished as the club's top goalscorer in LALIGA.
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What did Chelsea see in him?
The west African will now ply his trade in arguably the hardest division in the world and play in front of one of the most demanding fan bases in football. His ability to come alive in the box with instinctive finishes, coupled with his ability to get past defenders with his dribbling and speed will no doubt make him a nightmare for opposition players to deal with. However, what he makes up for in finishing and skill, he looks to lack in physicality. His aerial ability and link-up play are still a work-in-progress, something English top-flight defenders will look to expose, but given Mauricio Pochettino's prowess in and record of developing young talent and the similarities in his and Emery's tactics, there is every possibility that Chelsea have signed a big superstar of the future.
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