Nicolas Jackson was starting to look like the latest victim of the Chelsea striker’s curse until recently.
The 22-year-old was handed the unenviable task of being the Blues new No.9 after arriving from Villarreal in the summer for £30million, but quickly became characterised by wastefulness in front of goal.
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Jackson, like most of his Chelsea teammates, struggled for the first half of the 2023/24 seasonCredit: Getty
An altercation with a Chelsea fan in October summed up Jackson’s frustrating start to life at Stamford Bridge, which saw him score twice in his first nine games.
A late hat-trick of tap-ins against a nine-man Tottenham side in November only papered over the cracks, and the Senegal star left for AFCON with Blues supporters questioning whether he was the right man to lead their faltering attack.
But things have been different since his return. Jackson was at the centre of Chelsea’s two best performances this season: the 3-1 victory away at Aston Villa in the FA Cup and the 1-1 draw against Manchester City in the Premier League.
Despite missing another golden chance at the Etihad Stadium, an isolated Jackson caused havoc for the City defence and created Raheem Sterling’s goal.
Jackson can turn the tide completely with another display like that in the Carabao Cup final against Liverpool, live on talkSPORT this Sunday.
But when presented with a list of underwhelming Chelsea strikers including Andriy Shevchenko, Fernando Torres, Hernan Crespo, Gonzalo Higuain and Alvaro Morata… Jackson admits playing up front for the Blues is daunting.
“It’s not easy,” Jackson told talkSPORT. “If you think of all the strikers that came here, you would not want to come here. If you think about the strikers that come here, and people say they’re not good enough, you would think, ‘There is no need for me to come here’.
“But I was brought up to be challenged and don’t listen to other people and just do the thing that’s the most important, that’s playing for the team and make the team win, and being in a good relationship with the players and the coach and everybody.
“That’s the most important for me. That’s why I came. When I came, I understood why they were saying they’re not good enough, because it’s a big team and everything, but life is like this. We just have to continue working and believe in ourselves and try to improve every day.”
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Jackson has impressed Chelsea fans since returning from AFCONCredit: Getty
Jackson is not immune to outside noise and the Senegalese frontman is his own harshest critic.
But he takes comfort from the fact that some of football’s greatest-ever strikers went through rough patches, too.
Mark Goldbridge questions if Nicholas Jackson is good enough to be Chelsea’s main striker
When asked if criticism bothers him, he said: “When I first came [it did]. LaLiga is not like this. So when I first came, a little bit.
“But now, after talking to the coach and realising the most important thing is us, I don’t care about these things anymore.”
Jackson continued: “Sometimes I go to sleep watching the same videos, always thinking I should’ve done better.
“But when I was young, I saw [Karim] Benzema playing for Real Madrid. I was supporting Madrid when I was young and Benzema was missing a lot of chances.
“But you know, later he won the Ballon d’Or. I’m not saying I’m that level. I can’t be that level now.
“But I’ve seen it before so I’m not worried. I’m just trying to improve every day and be where I want to be.”
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Jackson remembers when fans criticised Benzema at Real MadridCredit: AFP
Jackson also knows he has the right mentor in Chelsea manager Mauricio Pochettino, who famously helped transform Harry Kane into a world-beater at Tottenham.
When asked about Pochettino and Kane, the Blues star said: “It’s the same thing. I don’t know what he told Harry, but the same thing he is telling me, he told Harry the same thing he is telling me.
“Just continue, you miss but later it will be easy when you start to improve and get experience. He is helping me a lot and all the players in the team. We fight for him and the team.”
Pochettino is not the only man giving Jackson advice on life at Chelsea.
His Senegalese compatriot Demba Ba, who spent a season-and-a-half at Stamford Bridge between 2013 and 2014, is also in close communication.
But of course, the greatest African player, and perhaps striker, in Chelsea history is Didier Drogba, and Jackson is desperate to sit down with the goalscoring icon.
He said: “It would be amazing because he was a legend and I was watching him since I was young. But we never talk because he is from Cote d’Ivoire and I am from Senegal.
“It’s not like Demba Ba. I’ve spoken to him because he played for Chelsea before and he’s Senegalese. But Didier, we never talk.
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Drogba is responsible for some of the club’s most memorable momentsCredit: AFP
“I hope to see him one day so he can give me advice to be like him.”
Many believe Jackson’s start to the season was impacted by the loss of Christopher Nkunku in pre-season.
The £63million signing from RB Leipzig appeared to strike an instant connection with Jackson before suffering a long-term injury weeks before the start of the campaign.
“We were so unhappy when we saw him get injured in the last game of pre-season,” Jackson said.
“He was a very important player for us, like everybody. But we had a good relationship and we wanted to show everybody we can do it.
“Now he’s back and trying to be at his level, so everybody will try to help him.”
It forced Pochettino to get creative with his front line and one of those experiments has seen Jackson used as a left-winger.
However, the striker insists he is most comfortable through the middle, largely thanks to Aston Villa manager Unai Emery, who moulded his talent at Villarreal.
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Jackson scored 12 goals in 26 LaLiga matches last seasonCredit: Rex
“I’m a striker,” he continued. “Since I came to Spain, I play as a striker. Unai [Emery] put me as a striker, before I was a No.10, and he taught me everything about football.
“I wasn’t in an academy or anything. Before I was just playing because we had talent and we just play. But Unai put me as a striker and for four years I played as a striker for him. I’m very happy in that position and it’s my preferred position.
“It’s just a matter of understanding each other on the pitch and the goals will come, for sure. Unai told me before and Pochettino is telling me again. I’ve been in this situation before.”
Listen to the full interview with Nicolas Jackson at 1.30pm on Sunday as part of our live coverage of Chelsea vs Liverpool in the Carabao Cup final at 3pm!
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