“They have to believe in the lad” – Former Blue advises club on what to do with 22-year-old | OneFootball

Joe Cole has advised Chelsea to stick by Nicolas Jackson following his missed chances against Manchester City in the FA Cup semi final.

The Blues controlled large parts of the game , but as so often has been the case this season Mauricio Pochettino’s men paid the ultimate price for not taking their chances as Bernardo Silva’s late goal consigned them to defeat.

Jackson was the main culprit for the missed chances as he fluffed his lines on three separate occasions wasting some golden opportunities.

The 22-year-old has come in for fierce criticism off the back of his performance at Wembley, missing two one on ones and a close range header.

Despite that the former Villareal man had a good came, causing City problems by stretching the game with his pace.

It’s been a good debut season for the Senegal international who is the club’s second top scorer with 13 in all competitions behind Cole Palmer with 25.

Cole has advised his former club to stick by the forward citing that he does a lot in attack “very, very, well.”

“If I was working with him as a centre forward, a lot of it is building confidence” , the 42-year-old said in quotes picked up by Mail Sport.

“We’ve seen strikers at 22 or 23 years old not have a great goal record and then something clicks and then they go on, but it’s down to the lad and his mindset.

“Jackson does a lot of things on the pitch very, very well. He can be a handful, he’s got great feet, he can run the channel, he’s a willing worker, and he’s a young striker so he’s got time on his side.”

Cole feels Jackson would benefit from another striker coming in, and believes having the burden of scoring goals taken away would help build his confidence.

“I don’t know him personally, but can he deliver in the big moments? It’s about moments as a centre forward. He might need somebody to come in and push him a little bit and share the responsibility as a No 9.

“Nkunku can play in a number of positions, not just No 9, but Chelsea will definitely strengthen in that area. They have to believe in the lad, they bought him as a young player and need to give him time to be nurtured.

“We’ve seen it so many times when players kick on. He’s one of those centre forwards I’d love to work with because it’s more about his mind than his technique.

“He needs to relax in front of goal. I hope he can get to where he needs to go.”