Blues boss believes 22 year old star can emerge as a leader in the squad | OneFootball

Mauricio Pochettino believes that Nicolas Jackson can develop into a leader for Chelsea following his first season at the club.

A lack of leadership has been something the Blues have missed all season and they have failed to see out a number of games as a result.

Pochettino has regularly mentioned how he is dealing with a young and inexperienced squad, and has hinted that it’s had an impact on his ability to manage the team.

Despite this, the Blues are still in contention to qualify for European competition next season even though they have dropped points to Burnley and Sheffield United in the last three games.

However, a few of the inexperienced players have stepped up to fight for the club, none more so than Cole Palmer, but there has been a small supporting cast.

Amongst that cast is 22 year old Jackson, who is quietly having a good debut campaign in England and has scored nine goals in 27 Premier League appearances.

The Senegal international has proved to be a key member of the squad regardless of if he is scoring goals or not, and has really impressed with his overall play.

Pochettino has claimed there is hope that Jackson can develop into a leader but didn’t want to compare him with Blues legend Didier Drogba.

“We talk about Nicolas Jackson. If we compare with [Didier] Drogba’s first season, there’s hope he can be a leader, but Drogba was a leader in his first season”, he said in quotes picked up by Chelsea’s official website.

“People can find excuses and criticise, but I cannot pay attention.”

Jackson is once again expected to lead the line for Chelsea in tonight’s game against Everton, but the forward will need to be wary because if he gets booked he will be suspended for the crucial trips to Arsenal and Aston Villa next week.