One of the most exciting things as a Chelsea supporter is trying to envisage the way Mauricio Pochettino will want his side to play under his management.
The newly-appointed Blues head coach officially began his role on Saturday (July 1) and will meet up with his squad next week to start pre-season training at Cobham. Pochettino will take training in Surrey for a couple of weeks before the squad jet off to America for a pre-season tour.
Among those players reporting to training will be new signing Nicolas Jackson. Chelsea confirmed the signing of the 22-year-old striker on Friday evening after triggering his £30million release clause that was inserted in his contract at Villarreal.
"I feel like I'm going to do amazing things here. See you soon Stamford Bridge," Jackson said upon his arrival. "I wanted to join a big team and Chelsea is one of the best teams in the world, plus I've watched them since I was young."
Jackson has been brought in to try and solve Chelsea's attacking problems, that saw them score just 38 goals over the course of the Premier League 2022/23 season. That averages at one goal per-game and for a club with the aspiration and ambition of Chelsea, that – put quite simply – will not do.
With the arrival of Christopher Nkunku, too, Chelsea have already signed two attacking players this summer and we are relatively early on in the transfer window. There is still some uncertainty over how Pochettino will setup his attacking line next season. Will Jackson play a big role? Will Nkunku be used through the middle?
READ MORE: Chelsea news and transfers LIVE: All of the latest updates coming out of Stamford Bridge
Unfortunately those questions will take time before they are clearly answered. Although we could see some indication of how Pochettino will use his attacking players during pre-season.
Pochettino of course worked with Harry Kane at Tottenham and although it was Tim Sherwood who gave the England captain his professional Spurs debut, it was the Argentine who really helped kickstart the striker's career. In all competitions, Kane scored 169 goals in 242 games under Pochettino at Spurs.
What helped Kane suit Pochettino's system, aside from his mouth-watering goal record, was his ability to battle for balls in the air. During his time under the Argentine, Kane won almost half of his aerial duels. However, in contrast, Jackson at Villarreal won just 28.8 per cent of his duels.
Being just 22, Jackson is not the finished article – and that is expected. His hold-up play leaves a lot to be desired but what Jackson boasts over Kane is his speed and directness off the ball that will allow Chelsea to stretch opposition defences.
The way Jackson plays is perhaps what Chelsea thought they might have been getting when they took the gamble and signed Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang last summer. Hopefully this 'gamble' works a lot better for the Blues.
