Chelsea summer signing SLAMMED despite recent form

Stuart Telford

• 10 Nov 2023 16:57 GMT
• 3 min read

Nicolas Jackson may have scored a hat-trick as Chelsea beat Tottenham Hotspur 4-1 on Monday, but not everyone was impressed…

Spurs played an hour with 10 men, and more than half an hour with nine, after Cristian Romero then Destiny Udogie were sent off, and Jackson took full advantage with a late hat-trick.

A €37 million arrival from Villarreal last summer, Jackson had begun to come in for criticism with his goal-haul lagging far behind his xG, but the Spurs brace took him to five in the Premier League and six in all competitions.

READ: Nicolas Jackson: Chelsea are the biggest football club in the world

Chelsea continue to be linked with a move for a new No.9 in January or next summer, with Victor Osimhen and Ivan Toney at the top of their shopping list, and they might not be worried about displacing Jackson.

"Without being too unkind I have to say that was the worst Premier League hat-trick I've ever seen,' Mail Sport's Football Editor Ian Ladyman told the It's All Coming Up podcast.

'Three open goals'

"He played poorly on the night, he missed chances against nine men and he eventually scored what amounted to three open goals late in the game."

READ: Chelsea dealt blow in Victor Osimhen pursuit

Ladyman's analysis might sound harsh, but Blues fans might draw confidence from the fact that Jackson was the deadliest player across the last 10 games in La Liga last season, with 10 of his 12 games scored from April on.

He should also be partnered by Christopher Nkunku in the coming weeks, with the French forward - who joined from RB Leipzig for €60m last summer - working his way back from a knee injury.

The pair looked promising in pre-season, combining for five goals and three assists across five games.

Jackson is valued at €30.6m by FootballTransfers' in-house algorithm, but the Blues are unlikely to cash in anytime soon, with head coach Mauricio Pochettino pointing out his tender 22 years recently.