“He’s not the type of player that can play Champions League football with Chelsea” – Alan Shearer claims 22-year-old Chelsea star not good enough for Chelsea
Nicolas Jackson is a player that’s had to deal with plenty of question marks against his name during this first season at Chelsea.
Nicolas Jackson, who’s only 22, has been a big talking point as he attempts to fill the void in attack.
The young forward has a decent return of eight goals in 23 Blues appearances across all competitions, but that doesn’t begin to tell the full story of how raw he still looks.
Despite scoring some goals, the Senegal international is now getting a reputation as someone that frequently misses golden opportunities in front of goal.
Alan Shearer has pitched into the Jackson discussion by suggesting that he’s not good enough yet to be a regular starter for Chelsea.
Speaking on The Rest Is Football podcast, Shearer said: “He’s not ready to be a regular for a club that wants to get into the Champions League and win everything. He may come good but he is not ready to be a regular.”
Nicolas Jackson shouldn’t be regularly starting for Chelsea
In fairness, we think Jackson’s enjoyed a moderate start to his time at Stamford Bridge.
Yes, the striker’s finishing must improve. However, his overall game looks tidy and he’s extremely busy on the pitch.
We’ve understood him being pretty much a nailed-on starter for Mauricio Pochettino’s side during the first half of the season, especially when Christopher Nkunku has missed most of the campaign.
Cole Palmer is the only Chelsea player to score more goals than Jackson this season, which is a statistic worth throwing into the equation.
Speaking via Sky Sports earlier this month, Kalidou Koulibaly insisted he’s got confidence that Jackson will have a great future at Chelsea.