Mauricio Pochettino makes quick Nicolas Jackson U-turn after difficult Chelsea start
Chelsea boss Mauricio Pochettino is already lining up moves for a new striker just 11 days after the transfer window closed with issues over £32million signing Nicolas Jackson arising. The Senegalese striker arrived from Villarreal in July and made an immediate impression in pre-season, but he has struggled to find form in the Premier League and the Blues face being left with only one senior striker in January unless they make a signing.
The 22-year-old opened his account with a goal in the 3-0 win over Luton Town last month after starting all four of Chelsea’s league matches under Pochettino, with Armando Broja in the rehabilitation phase of recovery and Christopher Nkunku injured until December.
But the Senegalese has found life difficult in the Premier League and he was guilty of one of the worst misses so far this season in their 1-0 defeat to Nottingham Forest last time, after somehow diverting Raheem Sterling’s deflected cross over the bar from just four yards out.
At a crucial point in the game, Pochettino’s reaction on the touchline spoke volumes about his side’s inability to score goals. And now he is on the lookout for potential reinforcements.
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The Argentinian has shortlisted three strikers to pursue in January, with RB Leipzig’s Benjamin Sesko one of the names included on their list of transfer targets, according to GiveMeSport. The west London side are also said to be monitoring Brentford’s Ivan Toney and Aston Villa poacher Ollie Watkins.
All three players would command a huge fee, with Leipzig reluctant to let Sesko go for anything lower than £70m. Likewise, Brentford will be desperate to hang onto Toney – currently suspended until January – and Watkins is a key figure at Villa Park.
Chelsea’s struggle for goals has been met with a surprising lack of urgency in moving to recruit new strikers, with Jackson and Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang the only senior strikers to arrive over the past two years.
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And there are no signs of their problems ending. No side in Europe’s top five leagues have created more clear cut goal chances than Chelsea, with 11 chances squandered in their opening four matches.
Worse yet, the Blues have only found the net on five occasions, which speaks to their profligacy in front of goal and something Pochettino highlighted himself after the defeat to Forest.
“Today, we created chances. We were not clinical enough in the last third,” Pochettino said after the defeat. “We should score if we want to win, make one mistake and concede.”
In addition to early concerns about Jackson, the striker will miss several games in January due to his likely participation in the Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) tournament with his country Senegal.
That would leave Pochettino with only Broja to shoulder the burden of goals up front, although Raheem Sterling and perhaps Nkunku could step in at that time.
Sesko, who began his career at Red Bull Salzburg before joining Leipzig in a £30m deal, may be the key to solving their goal problems once and for all, with the 20-year-old already bagging twice in the Bundesliga in just 27 minutes of action.
It it is a pressing issue for Chelsea to resolve and throwing money at the problem is something American owner Todd Boehly has proved he is willing to do, with Jackson already facing a fight to prove he can spearhead the Chelsea attack for years to come.
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