Chelsea’s Nicolas Jackson is going through a real dry patch in front of goal right now.
Chelsea manager Enzo Maresca is retaining faith in Nicolas Jackson as the first-choice striker, but he’s completely lost his shooting boots in the last month.
The 23-year-old frontman has scored nine top-flight goals so far this season. However, it’s now five consecutive games in the Premier League without scoring, which has coincided with the team failing to win any of those matches.
In Chelsea’s 2-2 draw at home to Bournemouth in midweek, Jackson missed several wonderful chances in front of goal. His inconsistency with goalscoring is definitely what’s holding him back because his all-round game when it comes to linking the play is outstanding.
Chelsea supporters were agitated by Jackson after watching another performance versus Bournemouth that combined the spectacular and the shocking.
Alan Shearer explains what he loves about Chelsea striker Nicolas Jackson
Alan Shearer did jump to the defence of Jackson after the Blues striker’s midweek performance.
He claims that he absolutely loves the centre-forward’s hunger to keep getting chances, even when he’s missing so many. He says the player’s attitude is spot on, and he’s still young enough to keep improving.
When discussing Chelsea’s Jackson on BBC’s Match of the Day, Shearer said: “I like him. I think he’s improving. I know he misses chances, a lot of chances, actually. He had 14 goals last season. He’s got nine Premier League goals this season. I think he is getting better.
“There’s lots to admire about his game. I like his attitude. He keeps getting in there despite missing chances. He’s not scared or frightened. He stretches teams and makes it easier for his teammates with his running in behind, which creates the space for Cole Palmer.
“He has to keep on improving and working on the training ground to improve that. There’s no doubt he’s a threat. There’s lots to his game to admire. He just had to keep improving on the finishing and the work on the training ground, and he’ll get better. Eventually he’ll get there. He’s only 23, so there’s still plenty of time to improve. The big thing for me is that I love his attitude; he’s not scared to keep getting in there. You’ve got to keep on doing that.”
Jackson may have a glaring weakness when it comes to the finishing department, but we can see why Maresca is sticking with him as he generally impacts the game in a positive way. Unfortunately, he’s just missing one too many chances right now during a really poor run for him and the team.
Gary Lineker recently urged Chelsea’s Jackson to train his finishing as he still thinks he’s got the potential to become top class.
Will Chelsea sign competition at striker?
It’s not a huge surprise to see Chelsea linked with centre-forwards in the transfer rumour mill, so let’s wait and see if a new No.9 arrives to challenge Jackson in the second half of the season.
Ipswich forward Liam Delap, 21, is widely mentioned as a potential target. On paper, he could be a superb alternative to Jackson after scoring eight league goals in a struggling Ipswich side so far this season.
Chelsea have made a second enquiry about signing Ipswich’s Delap in January as they actively work on trying to get the transfer over the line.
The English striker is a more conventional central striker with his traits in and around the box, so we’d like to see the Blues bring him in. If the Blues can help ease the goalscoring pressure off Jackson, it should help him as well.
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