Chelsea receive Nicolas Jackson transfer confirmation after latest Bayern snub

Tom Weber

• 29 Nov 2025 13:31 CST
• 4 min read

News

The chances of Bayern Munich triggering their €65 million purchase obligation for Chelsea striker Nicolas Jackson are diminishing with every game.

The Senegal international was forced out of Stamford Bridge in the summer and completed a last-minute move to Bayern following a bizarre saga that saw Chelsea attempt to recall him while he was already in Munich after Liam Delap suffered an injury.

Jackson remained in Germany and completed his loan move, although on revised terms. Instead of a €15 million loan fee, Bayern now had to pay €16.5m, while a €65m purchase obligation was added to a deal that already contained a buy option for the same fee.

This obligation will come into effect if Jackson either starts or plays at least 45 minutes in 40 games this season, primarily in the Champions League and Bundesliga.

Shortly after the move was confirmed, honorary Bayern president Uli Hoeness laughed off the chances of Jackson playing that many games in a team with Harry Kane at the peak of his powers.

Bayern won't trigger purchase obligation

Since then, reports have only proliferated, claiming that Bayern will not sign Jackson permanently. Given his limited action so far, it really does seem pretty much impossible that Bayern will trigger the purchase obligation.

On Saturday, Bayern took on St. Pauli in a game in which Jackson was widely expected to pick up a rare start, yet head coach Vincent Kompany ultimately opted to go with Kane again.

It was yet more confirmation that Jackson will not stay at Bayern, at least not by virtue of the mandatory purchase clause. The German side could, of course, utilise their purchase option or try to negotiate a cheaper deal with Chelsea.

Whether Jackson would be willing to stay is a different question, of course. So far, the 24-year-old has only ticked off six of his required 40 games. He has started five times and played 45 minutes against Hamburg in his first outing for Bayern.

Ahead of Bayern's clash with St. Pauli, Abendzeitung crunched the numbers and illustrated just how nigh-on impossible it is for Jackson to reach the required threshold to trigger his obligation.

There are 22 games remaining in the Bundesliga, a maximum of 12 fixtures in the Champions League, should Bayern reach the final after going through the playoffs and four matches in the DFB-Pokal, again if Bayern reach the final, which they haven't done since 2020.

On paper, Jackson has 38 more chances to start or play 45 minutes. Having already done so six times, he needs to do it 34 more times, but this is incredibly unlikely unless Kane suffers a serious injury.

Moreover, Jackson is expected to participate in the Africa Cup of Nations with Senegal, so he will miss at least one Bayern game and potentially up to four depending on his country's performances, further diminishing his chances of reaching that elusive 40-game mark.

Chelsea will therefore need to find a solution for him in the summer because, as things stand, he will return to West London.

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