Chelsea news: Nicolas Jackson’s goalscoring form has resulted in criticism from supporters but they been urged to be patient
Chelsea have been urged to stick with Nicolas Jackson after his early season struggles (Image: Darren Walsh)
Chelsea have been urged to get behind Nicolas Jackson and give him time following his difficult start to life in the Premier League. The striker was signed by Villarreal in the summer for just over £30million and has managed only one goal.
Jackson, 22, has started in all of Mauricio Pochettino’s opening six Premier League games at the club in Christopher Nkunku’s absence. After showing glimpses of his threat in the draw with Liverpool and 3-1 loss at West Ham, the Senegalese netted in the Blues’ only win of the season against Luton Town.
However, he has now gone three games without scoring, as has the entire team, and has been heavily criticised for his output in front of goal. In Sunday’s 1-0 loss to Aston Villa, Jackson once again struggled in front of goal and will now miss Monday’s trip to Fulham following his fifth yellow card in six games.
“Jackson is a fantastic player but he needs to be relaxed in front of goal,” Pochettino said before the defeat to Villa. “Remember Vinicius [Jr] arrived and after three seasons or two seasons and a half and started to perform.
“Always we forget we are talking about young players. You can blame me or blame us and you can talk about tactics but they need time. There’s no doubt we have amazing talent but they need time to settle and for sure they will start to perform in the way we expect.”
Following calls for Chelsea to sign Victor Osimhen, former Blues defender Scott Minto has encouraged supporters to get behind Jackson. Minto went even further to suggest he could reach the levels of Didier Drogba in SW6 – who scored 164 goals for the club.
“I really like Nicolas Jackson, and I think if you give him time, he will be a top Premier League striker,” he told talkSPORT. “I look at him and he’s strong, he is fast, he has defenders hanging off him, he’s sharp, and wants to work back for the team.
“The only thing he is lacking at the moment is stick the ball in the back of the net. Didier Drogba, when he first came to Chelsea, some of the fans weren’t having him straight away. He took time to settle. I really like him [Jackson], and I am telling you there is a really good player there.”
Soucre: football.london
