Author: Amrit Santlani
Chelsea officially completed their second signing of the summer transfer window, unveiling Senegalese striker Nicolas Jackson on Friday following a 37 million euro transfer.
The 22-year-old has signed a long-term, eight-year contract with the Stamford Bridge club after an impressive season with the Yellow Submarine. Jackson has scored 13 goals in 38 games for the Spanish club, including 9 goals in Villarreal’s last eight league games.
The Senegalese becomes the second big-money signing for Chelsea this summer, following the arrival of Christopher Nkunku from RB Leipzig in a £52 million deal.
Following Jackson’s arrival, Chelsea’s co-sporting directors Laurence Stewart and Paul Winstanley said in their statement that the striker was ready for the “next step” in his career.
“He’s a young player with great potential. We believe he is ready for the next step in his career and look forward to him working with our new manager, Mauricio Pochettino, and his teammates at Chelsea” said the team manager.
The London club has been incredibly busy this summer, mainly because of the exodus of players following new owner Todd Boehly’s record spending in the last two windows.
Many important names left Chelsea, including Kai Havertz, who went to Arsenal, while Mateo Kovacic went to Manchester City. Mason Mount is about to join Manchester United.
In addition, Jackson’s team-mates Edouard Mendy and Kalidou Koulibaly left Chelsea to join clubs in Saudi Arabia, while N’Golo Kante went to Al-Ittihad.
It was previously reported that Jackson had already agreed a £20.3 million deal with Bournemouth in January, but the transfer did not go ahead after the medical.
Having made a name for himself at the Casa Sports club during his youth career, the 22-year-old moved to Villarreal in 2019 and, after impressing during a loan spell at Mirandes, secured a place in the La Liga first team before arriving at Chelsea.
Jackson was part of the Senegalese team at the FIFA World Cup in Qatar. He made his debut against the Netherlands in the group stage and has since made two more international appearances, providing two assists, including one in the recent 4-2 win over Brazil.