John Obi Mikel, who played for Chelsea in the past, criticized Nicola Jackson and insisted that a striker was needed.
Britain’s “Talk Sports” reported on the 19th (Korea Standard Time) that “Michel from Chelsea gave a brutally honest evaluation of Jackson, which was surprising.”
Chelsea lost 0-2 to Manchester City in the opening match of the 2024-25 Premier League (PL) at Stamford Bridge in London, England, at 0:30 a.m. on the 20th.
Playing as Chelsea’s frontline striker, Jackson showed poor performance. According to Football Association, Jackson showed poor performance not only with attack points but also with 69 percent pass success rate (11/16) and four touches inside the penalty box.
Jackson had only one shot on target, which was disappointing. In the 35th minute of the first half, Jackson caught a long pass from the back and beat the opposing defenders in the penalty box, and had a chance to shoot, but it didn’t work at all.
Jackson was replaced by Marc Giu in the 22nd minute of the second half. Chelsea lost 0-2 to Erling Holland in the 18th minute of the first half and Mateo Kovacic in the 39th minute of the second half.
After the match, Michel, who played for Chelsea in the past, criticized Jackson. “It wasn’t a perfect match, but we played a good game. Chelsea created opportunities but failed to make use of them. I will listen to Jackson finish with Essie,” he said.
“You can dribble past one, two or three players before shooting. We need a striker who can kick the ball into the net. We don’t have such a player in our team,” Mikel said.
He continued, “I know I talked about Jackson so much that sometimes it sounds like I’m ignoring him. I don’t ignore him. I think Chelsea need the best strikers who can score goals like Holland in Manchester City.”
Jackson recognized his potential with Villarreal in the 2022-23 season by scoring 12 goals and four assists in 26 matches. Chelsea selected Jackson as the next-generation striker in the transfer window last summer, and successfully acquired him. Chelsea have given him eight years to sign.안전놀이터
Unlike his expectations, he displayed disappointing performance. While playing for Chelsea, he scored 17 goals and six assists in 44 matches, but his scoring ability declined given his chances. Moreover, he was given a yellow card 10 times due to his violent behavior during games. Fans expected Jackson to show improvement ahead of the opening of the season, but the ability to score a goal still remains a problem.
Meanwhile, Chelsea want striker Victor Osimhen from Napoli. According to recent local news reports, Chelsea plans to recruit Osimhen by adding Romelu Lukaku, who has been reduced to surplus resources, and one more player.