Chelsea has completed the signing of Nicolas Jackson from Villareal on an eight-year contract. Villarreal’s £30.1m release clause was marginally exceeded by Chelsea in return for better conditions on the payment. The Senegalese attacker joins Christopher Nkunku, who cost £52 million and arrived from RB Leipzig, as Mauricio Pochettino’s second summer addition since taking over in May. Jackson led Villarreal in scoring last season with 12 goals and five assists across all competitions. The Senegalese attacker was set to join Bournemouth for £22.5 million in January, but he failed his physical because of a hamstring issue.
“Nicolas Jackson is a wonderful addition to Chelsea, which makes us happy. As he showed for Villarreal last season, he is a young player with great promise,” co-sporting directors Laurence Stewart and Paul Winstanley said. “We think he is prepared for this next phase of his career and is eager to see him collaborate with his Chelsea colleagues and our new head coach, Mauricio Pochettino.”
In a game-changing season, Jackson’s late-season play won him La Liga Player of the Month honors in May, enabling Villarreal to finish fifth and secure a spot in the Europa League. At the World Cup in Qatar, he also played for Senegal, making his international debut against the Netherlands in a group-stage match.
In January, Bournemouth came very close to signing the 22-year-old from Villarreal, but the deal fell through due to uncertainty around a hamstring injury the player had sustained. Jackson’s South Coast medical was a failure. The Cherries had in fact agreed to pay a £21 million price, but they decided against taking a chance on Jackson because they needed as many healthy players as they could get. Would Dominic Solanke, a former Chelsea player, have been Dominic Solanke’s primary opponent had Jackson come to Bournemouth? With a fiery conclusion to the Yellow Submarine campaign, the player would dispel such worries.
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