The transfer window is open and there appears to be no shortage of work that Chelsea are undertaking. They are set to battle for Moises Caicedo's signature, and have been approached for the likes of Mason Mount and Kai Havertz, while a series of midfielders seem set to depart in Mateo Kovacic, N'Golo Kante and Ruben Loftus-Cheek.
However, one deal that appears among their most advanced is Chelsea's quest to land a striker. With Romelu Lukaku another player expected to depart in addition to Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang, the Blues' struggles in front of goal have meant a new forward has long been among the club's top priorities.
Reports suggest that the Blues have already agreed personal terms with Nicolas Jackson and are preparing to activate his release clause with Villarreal that is said to be in the region of £30million. There's little doubting it will be a more appealing fee than what Napoli would demand for Victor Osimhen.
Jackson had a breakout season of sorts in 2022/23 and notched 12 goals in 26 La Liga appearances for the Yellow Submarine. Though at 21, he is not necessarily the finished article and had his struggles too.
Under Unai Emery, Jackson struggled when he was tasked with a rigid role centred around keeping the team's shape and pressing but was offered more freedom under Quique Setien in a system centred around chance creation and was able to use his pace and strength on and off the ball. It is telling that nine of his goals came in his final eight matches of the season.
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Such a signing would appear to leave a number of decisions in the hands of Mauricio Pochettino however. At 21, Jackson still has a lot to prove and can be harnessed into a starting role, but whether Chelsea intend to sign another, more established striker remains to be seen. The club do need someone who is able to deliver quickly.
If the west London side manage to land the striker, it would be in keeping with the club's ambitions to target the best young talent. Landing the likes of Benoit Badiashile, Noni Madueke, Mykhailo Mudryk, Wesley Fofana, Carney Chukwuemeka and Enzo Fernandez have made the ambition clear in the first team, as well as signings for the development team in Omari Hutchinson and Cesare Casadei.
It will also generate direct competition for Armando Broja and David Datro Fofana. The latter will no doubt be assessed by his new boss, but his limited playing time at the end of last season perhaps signals he will be best suited to a loan having joined in January.
Chelsea turned down interest from West Ham last summer and secured Broja to a six-year deal after the closure of the transfer window in 2022. The forward was involved in the first team set-up before being ruled out for the remainder of the season when he was injured during the World Cup break.
Broja is preparing himself to come back for pre-season after months of rehabilitation alongside the likes of Tino Anjorin, and the forward already appears to be drawing some interest. The Cohbam product, like Jackson, is just 21 and scored once in his 286 minutes last term having scored nine times for Southampton in 2021/22.
Jackson's arrival could mean shared playing time with Broja with few other options but if Chelsea bring in two stikers, there will be a big decision to make over the Albania international.
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