Chelsea looking at “massive” £58m signing who’d brilliantly rival Jackson

Chelsea have been searching for a reliable goalscorer since the departure of Diego Costa, spending hundreds of millions on strikers, including £97.5m on Romelu Lukaku, which didn’t turn out as planned.

The Blues’ record goalscorer is, of course, Frank Lampard, arriving late in the box from midfield, but also playing in a team that had the box dominance of Didier Drogba, dragging defenders away and opening lanes for the midfielder to score.

Of Chelsea’s top ten all-time scorers, eight of them have hit 100+ goals, but could the Blues have finally found their next 100+ goal man, with Nicolas Jackson?

Nicolas Jackson at Chelsea

Jackson joined Chelsea in the summer transfer window of 2023, joining from Villarreal for a fee of around £32m. Since his arrival, the 23-year-old has made 60 appearances for the Blues in all competitions, scoring 26 goals, providing nine assists, and totalling 4,755 minutes played.

Early in his Chelsea career, Jackson had some big misses that were heavily scrutinised, but his perseverance and quality have shone through as the striker is now proving many wrong with his overall impact, but also his goal tally.

Jackson is brilliant in all phases, dropping deep to link play, working hard for the team off the ball, and making runs in behind to cause problems for the opposition defenders.

However, one area the Senegal international doesn’t exactly specialise in is box dominance, bullying defenders and winning aerial duels to finish from crosses, which is one attribute the Blues are still lacking in their squad.

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Transfer Focus

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Chelsea looking at new striker

According to reports from TEAMtalk, Chelsea have asked for ‘fresh details’ on Dušan Vlahović’s situation, as they monitor a potential move for the Juventus forward. Arsenal also remain interested, according to the report, with Atlético Madrid another possible destination for the £58m-rated striker.

Former Juventus striker, Roberto Boninsegna, labelled Vlahovic as “massive” and “strong“, stating that he is a point of reference for the Italian giants. So far this season, the 24-year-old Serbian has scored 11 goals in 19 appearances, also providing two assists in his 1,560 minutes played.

So, the main two questions are, how would he fit into this Chelsea side and how does the Juve sensation compare to current no.9, Jackson?

Well, when you compare the metrics of Vlahovic against those of Jackson, it is clear what you get from both strikers. The latter likes to be involved in all phases, has better progressive carry numbers, more key passes per 90, more shot-creating actions, and overall has a wider skillset.

However, Vlahovic brings that box presence Chelsea are lacking, standing at 6 foot 3, winning 1.33 aerial duels per 90, and even adding extra shot volume, being an excellent striker of the ball.

By acquiring Vlahovic, therefore, Enzo Maresca would be able to deploy different strikers for different gameplans, having a mixture of attributes and weapons to utilise over the course of a season, and expanding his attacking arsenal just that little bit more.

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