“Realistic” chance that first choice star from last season leaves Chelsea this month says Ben Jacobs | OneFootball

Chelsea are really in full swing selling players right now, and today Ben Jacobs has brought an update on one deal which could happen before the end of the summer – and would likely end up being our biggest sale of all.

Jackson could suffer even more if Chelsea sign Xavi Simons

Nicolas Jackson holds off a Bournemouth defender. (Photo by Ryan Hiscott/Getty Images)

Jacobs has long been tracking the situation of Chelsea striker Nicolas Jackson. After two years as our undisputed first choice striker, the Senegal star now has serious competition. Both Joao Pedro and Liam Delap arrived at the start of the window, and by the end of the Club World Cup it seemed that Jackson had been bumped down to third choice.

That makes a departure far more likely, even though Jacobs insists Jackson is “valued by Enzo Maresca.”

The onus is on the striker himself – “A lot will come down to Jackson and whether he wants to be the lead striker elsewhere,” Jacobs adds.

The journalist makes the interesting point that the potential addition of Xavi Simons on the wing would reduce Joao Pedro’s usage out wide, therefore reducing Jackson’s chances further.

Jacobs names 3 teams who have been offered forward

In summary, Jacobs says there’s a “realistic chance” that the forward leaves before the end of the window. “Several clubs are keen and likely to approach Chelsea in August.” Mentioned here are Manchester United, Newcastle and AC Milan, to whom Jackson was apparently offered.

So far there’s been no serious attempt to sign him, but we would imagine he’s on the list of many teams. He’s not perfect, but he’s shown many of the tools one needs to be a good Premier League striker, and with a little more development he could be a great player for most teams.