Chelsea leading race to sign “world-class” upgrade on Jackson

Chelsea have just three games left in the Premier League to ensure they will not spend a second successive season shackled to just domestic football.

The Blues have flattered to deceive for a long time now but recent performances have suggested that there is life in Mauricio Pochettino’s project yet, and with a favourable run of fixtures to close out the campaign there is hope that a major step can be taken towards revival.

Still, Chelsea are seventh after 35 matches and will need to leapfrog Newcastle United while warding off Manchester United to secure a spot in the Europa League.

Champions League qualification is mathematically impossible but streamlined recruitment this summer could see that goal realised next year, with a prolific centre-forward needed for progress.

Chelsea eyeing new striker

According to Gianluca Di Marzio, coveted Napoli striker Victor Osimhen is not excited by the thought of returning to Ligue 1, with Paris Saint-Germain interested.

Instead, the Nigeria international is hoping for a transfer to the Premier League, with Arsenal and Chelsea favourites for his signature and set to battle it out this summer.

With the report further stating that he enjoys visiting England with friends, it would seem that all roads point to London.

The Blues are prepared to offer a fee of around €80-90m (£69m-£77m) to land Osimhen and in doing so, might just secure the final piece of the puzzle to ensure success next season.

How Victor Osimhen would fit in at Chelsea

Osimhen – hailed as a “monster” by analyst Raj Chohan – reached staggering levels of goalscoring success last season as Napoli stormed toward the Scudetto, dominating Serie A with a flourish.

Indeed, as per Sofascore, the £212k-per-week striker scored 26 goals and added four assists from 30 starting appearances in Serie A, averaging 1.1 key passes and 4.3 successful duels per game.

Speaking of his qualities, well-respected Chohan further said: “Osimhen holds up the ball and is better aerially than Haaland & Núñez whilst making the same type of runs. Obviously not as good a finisher.”

This season, the out-of-sorts Naples side have been far less impressive and currently languish in eighth place after much instability and strife, though Osimhen has still maintained a clinical output despite battling injury problems, scoring 15 goals from 21 league starts.

As per FBref, the Lagos-born phenom ranks among the top 16% of forwards across Europe’s top five leagues over the past year for non-penalty goals, the top 8% for shots taken and the top 5% for touches in the attacking penalty area per 90.

At Chelsea, a team that have proved themselves promising creators but poor finishers throughout the campaign would thrive with Osimhen starring as the attacking focal point, with his qualities making him a major upgrade on Nicolas Jackson.

Jackson’s first season in England has been punctuated with fierce criticisms over some of his wayward shooting, but there is plenty of promise within his dynamic skill set and, in fairness, the Senegalese has posted 16 goals from 41 games, which isn’t a bad return.

The 22-year-old also offers more of a contribution toward team play, ranking among the top 20% of positional peers for progressive carries and the top 13% for successful take-ons per 90, but Osimhen has been described as “world-class” by former Chelsea boss Jose Mourinho and this is what Stamford Bridge desperately needs.

It is the same way that Liverpool’s Darwin Nunez offers more all-round than Erling Haaland, but the disparity in effect in the final third makes the Norwegian’s threat indisputably more impactful.

Jackson has scored 13 Premier League goals while missing 22 big chances. Osimhen, conversely, has missed 38 big chances in Serie A across the past two campaigns but he’s also bagged 41 times.

Chelsea must pull no punches in moving for Osimhen this summer, and while Pochettino will hope that Jackson can find success while playing second fiddle next season, he must not enter the new season as Chelsea’s first-choice frontman.