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Carlton Cole says ‘it’s starting to click’ for Chelsea player he knew would come good

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It can take some time for certain players to adjust at new clubs, and in the case of Chelsea, several of their signings from the summer of 2023 are now starting to reward them with consistently top performances this season.

Enzo Maresca is the Chelsea manager who’s been able to get a tune out of the Blues squad in the last few months.

The Chelsea owners have overseen several extremely busy transfer windows, including the summer of 2023. Here is a look at some of the first-team stars they signed during that period:

PlayerSigned from
Axel DisasiMonaco
Cole PalmerManchester City
Christopher NkunkuRB Leipzig
Moises CaicedoBrighton
Nicolas JacksonVillarreal
Robert SanchezBrighton
Romeo LaviaSouthampton
Chelsea signings in the 2023 summer transfer window

In the case of Cole Palmer, he hit the ground running very quickly at Stamford Bridge. He’s managed to follow up an astonishing debut season in west London with an equally impressive second campaign so far.

Elsewhere, some Blues players took a bit longer to get up to speed before really hitting their form recently during their second season.

Chelsea Training and Press Conference
Photo by Darren Walsh/Chelsea FC via Getty Images

Carlton Cole knew Chelsea striker Nicolas Jackson would come good

TalkSPORT pundit and former Blues forward Carlton Cole has shared he’s not been surprised by the improvement of Chelsea’s Nicolas Jackson this season.

Cole told talkSPORT: “I said Jackson will come good eventually. Even when he wasn’t doing the bits, he gets into positions of maximum opportunity. I looked at it and thought if he can just start getting a little bit of confidence. Sometimes he does look a little bit off, but he’s always in a dangerous position. Now it’s starting to click for him.”

Gary Lineker says Chelsea frontman Jackson is improving and looking more confident on the pitch.

He did score 17 goals in 44 games across all competitions last season during his first year with the Blues, but he was guilty of some really sloppy moments in front of goal. As for the 2024/25 campaign, the striker has already netted eight times in 14 appearances.

Ally McCoist agreed Chelsea’s Jackson is getting better, particularly in the box as a finisher.

The 23-year-old’s general game is superb when it comes to linking up play, so now he’s becoming more clinical, he’s in the conversation for one of the Premier League’s top No.9s.

Nicolas Jackson preparing to face his favourite opponent

Chelsea travel to Tottenham on Sunday afternoon in their next league match, which should be music to the ears of Jackson.

The Blues striker scored four goals in last season’s two matches against Spurs. Hopefully, history repeats itself this weekend.

Here is a look at the teams Jackson has scored the most goals against in his club career:

OpponentAppearancesGoals scored
West Ham34
Tottenham24
Newcastle United42
Aston Villa42
Gimnastic de Tarragona32
Cadiz22
Athletic Bilbao22
Celta Vigo12
Nicolas Jackson statistics via Transfermarkt

Jackson should feel ready to go after being rested for the midweek 5-1 thrashing of Southampton.

Chris Sutton says Chelsea striker Jackson is “on fire” right now, so he must be desperate to get back on the pitch and continue this superb season.