Joao Pedro is the first-choice striker at Chelsea right now. All things considered, he has had a positive debut campaign. But just look at the club’s run of games without scoring a goal against top-flight opponents and some questions need to be asked. Is he good enough to lead the line for the Blues as the number 9?
At the very least, Chelsea need to bring in some competition. Liam Delap has been completely ineffective for Chelsea. And they do not have any other genuine option capable of challenging up top.
There have been some talks about a move for Julian Alvarez. But with Chelsea set to miss out on Champions League football, that feels a bit unrealistic if you ask me.
Interestingly, Chelsea might have always had the answer right under their noses. And fortunately, it looks like he might be open to a return to Stamford Bridge in the summer.
Nicolas Jackson sounds open to Chelsea return
Nicolas Jackson was always going to play a secondary role to Harry Kane, the current frontrunner for the Ballon d’Or, at Bayern Munich. But his output has been solid. He has scored nine goals and provided four assists in 1061 minutes of football.
Bayern Munich have an option to sign him permanently. But that is a considerable figure. It is unlikely they would be willing to pay that for a backup striker, despite his good recent run of form.
On the other hand, according to The Sun, sources close to Jackson say the player is warming to the idea of a Chelsea return, given how much has changed at Stamford Bridge since he left on loan. He has stayed in touch with some of his teammates, mainly Enzo Fernandez and Moises Caicedo. But he is no hurry to make a decision and will hold talks over his future after the World Cup.
Could Jackson be the answer for Chelsea?
Jackson did not get enough credit for the job that he did at Chelsea. He scored a solid 30 goals over his two seasons. Solid for someone whose finishing often let him down. One would hope that playing a season of football with Kane has made him better in that respect. He also has incredible technical ability, something that this team seems to be missing at the moment.
But even more importantly, he seemed to make those around him better. Just look at Cole Palmer’s numbers with and without Jackson on his team.
Jackson is world-class at several aspects of the game. The same cannot be said for Delap. And if Chelsea have a chance to bring the Senegalese international back, they should take it. Of course, Emmanuel Emegha is set to arrive in the summer, which might complicate things.
