Nicolas Jackson will face off against his old side when Chelsea and Bayern Munich clash at the Allianz Arena on Wednesday night.
Enzo Maresca hasn’t said much about Nicolas Jackson since his departure at the end of the transfer window, but it was always going to be a topic of conversation given the fixture.
Jackson joined Bayern on an initial loan for a fee of £14.3 million, but with an additional £56.2 million obligation to buy if the Chelsea man makes a certain number of appearances during his spell in Germany.
But a question posed to Maresca during his pre-match press conference was regarding Jackson’s eligibility to play against his parent club.
Enzo Maresca has no issue with Champions League rule
The prospect of Jackson making an appearance may be a foreign concept for Premier League fans. In England, a player cannot face the club he’s on loan from.
In the Champions League, no such restriction is in place, and the Chelsea boss takes no issue with that.
He remarks: “For me it’s normal. I’m from Italy. I played many years in Spain. And this is the rule. When you are on loan, you can play. So for me, it’s okay.”
There’s no denying Jackson was an important part of Chelsea’s success last season and Maresca makes sure to acknowledge his contributions when the Senegalese striker comes up in conversation.
On his relationship with Jackson, he says: “I’m grateful, thankful to Nico because if we achieve what we achieved last year, it’s because of all the players, including Nicolas.
“I text him after he left the club, telling him thanks for last season, wished him all the best. And Nico is a good guy.”
And the respect is mutual, according to Jackson.
Enzo Maresca has a simple explanation for his decision to let Jackson leave
Another obvious question that was posed to the Argentinian was why he allowed Jackson to leave.
Maresca was blunt, saying: We bought two strikers, Liam Delap and Joao Pedro. And I think with two strikers, it’s a good number. It’s enough. And this is the reason why.”
No surprises there.
Chelsea signing two starting-quality strikers at the beginning of the summer meant the writing was on the wall for Jackson.
Maresca has no bad blood, and no problem seeing Jackson on the pitch on Wednesday.
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