Tony Cascarino urges Enzo Maresca not to give up on £32m Chelsea player

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Former Chelsea player Tony Cascarino does not want to see Enzo Maresca give up on one of his forwards this season.

Right now, Chelsea have so many attacking players and could add more before the transfer window closes.

Chelsea have just signed Pedro Neto from Wolverhampton Wanderers, and Atletico Madrid’s Joao Felix could now join Maresca’s side.

The Blues also continue to be linked with centre-forwards, which could spell bad news for Nicolas Jackson.

• READ MORE: Enzo Maresca makes it clear the position he wants to play Chelsea’s Nicolas Jackson in

Tony Cascarino wants to see Nicolas Jackson given more time

Chelsea have Victor Osimhen firmly in their sights after pulling out of a deal to sign Samu Omorodion from Atletico.

An elite forward like the 25-year-old moving to Stamford Bridge would likely see Jackson’s game time drop.

Cascarino, though, wants to see Maresca and Chelsea persist with the £32m Senegal international.

Speaking about him on talkSPORT, Cascarino said: “Well, I think they invested a lot of money into him last year. Yes, he missed chances and he could have been way more clinical.

“He would have been close to getting the golden boot by the way because he missed a hell of a… you know, Timo Werner before missed lots, [Romelu] Lukaku had missed a good few. They’ve had this problem with centre-forwards missing chances, but I still think he’s worth staying with.”

Nicolas Jackson likely to start season as Chelsea’s first-choice striker

It is highly unlikely that Chelsea will be able to complete a deal for someone like Osimhen before the end of this week.

Therefore, you would expect Jackson to start the new season as the No.1 striker at Stamford Bridge, with the Blues kicking off their Premier League campaign with a home tie against Manchester City this Sunday.

There is also a possibility of Chelsea’s manager going with Christopher Nkunku up front for the City game.

Nkunku has admitted he prefers to play centrally, while Jackson missed most of Chelsea’s pre-season because of injury. A good week of training, though, and he may get the nod to start against the Premier League champions on Sunday.

If he does and sinks City, perhaps Chelsea will reconsider their plans to sign another centre-forward. Maresca also has Marc Guiu in his squad, who impressed during pre-season.

The above, though, beating City, is a very big if. The Citizens have already put four past Chelsea this summer, though that was in a friendly. Whatever the case, Sunday’s game is going to be a tricky one for them.