Chelsea 'to complete' €36m transfer with Pochettino's first major signing

Stuart Telford

• Updated: 17 Jun 2023 20:11 BST
• 4 min read

Chelsea are set to complete the signing of Senegal striker Nicolas Jackson from Villarreal for €36 million, according to reports.

The Blues are in the market for a new striker with Romelu Lukaku making it clear he wants to stay at Inter Milan beyond his loan deal which expires at the end of June and Kai Havertz - who only scored seven goals last season - nearing a move to Arsenal or Bayern Munich.

Various in-demand strikers have been linked with a move to Stamford Bridge, from Mauricio Pochettino's former charge Harry Kane, still of Tottenham Hotspur, and Victor Osimhen, who fired Napoli to a first Serie A title in 33 years last term with his 26 goals.

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But the competition on those players is fierce, and their asking prices expected to surpass €100m at a time when Chelsea need to balance the books with the spectre of UEFA Financial Fair Play looming.

Step forward Nicolas Jackson, who has impressed in the season just gone with Villarreal, scoring 12 goals and assisting four more from his 26 games in La Liga, only 16 of which were starts.

Jackson agreement is near

"The Blues are working hard on a deal for the 21-year-old after face-to-face negotiations and an agreement over personal terms is near," report the Evening Standard. "Chelsea are acting quickly to secure the Senegal international after he was targeted by both AC Milan and Aston Villa."

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Nine of Jackson's goals came in the final eight games of the La Liga season, which helped the Yellow Submarine secure qualification for next season's Europa League group stage.

Chelsea will pay €36m for Jackson, who is currently valued at €13.2m by FootballTransfers' in-house algorithm.

Fellow Senegal internationals Edouard Mendy and Kalidou Koulibaly could be teammates of the Gambia-born Jackson next season, although both have uncertain futures at Stamford Bridge.