Everton could be set to do battle with new Aston Villa boss Unai Emery for the signing of Villarreal winger Nicolas Jackson.
According to Mundo Deportivo (via BirminghamLive ), Emery is keen to bring Jackson across to England with him after returning to the Premier League following a successful stint in charge of Villarreal. The Senegal Under-20 international was promoted into the first-team picture at the La Liga outfit by Emery during the 2020-21 campaign, but it was last season that he really started to exert his attacking influence, with seven goals and nine assists from 36 appearances across all competitions.
Former Arsenal boss Emery has taken over at Villa following the sacking of Steven Gerrard and will no doubt what to strengthen his squad in January. But Everton have also been linked to Jackson with the Daily Mail reporting on Monday that both the Blues and Newcastle United are potential suitors. Jackson's contract at Villarreal ends in 2023, which could force the Yellow Submarine to sell come January, or risk losing their promising star on a free in the summer.
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Villa could potentially hold an advantage over their rivals, with Emery the man who introduced Jackson to senior football and then nurtured him into the player he is today. But Frank Lampard and the Blues are said to be monitoring the situation in Spain.
Everton boss Lampard made clear his intention to prioritise attacking talent during the latter stages of the summer window, with rejected bids for Mohamed Kudus and Mykhaylo Mudryk a clear sign of the kind of player he is wanting. The Blues have been blighted by a lack of goalscoring threat so far this season, with 11 goals from 13 games the joint third-lowest amount in the league.
Jackson, naturally a right-winger but someone who can be deployed across the frontline, and who has also been linked with Barcelona could add the goals and assists currently lacking and provide able competition for the likes of Anthony Gordon and Demarai Gray.
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