Much has been made of Chelsea and their seemingly endless spending in the transfer market since Todd Boehly arrived at the club in the summer of 2022.
They have not been afraid to splash the cash over the last two years with the likes of Enzo Fernandez, Moises Caicedo, Cole Palmer, Mykhailo Mudryk, and Christopher Nkunku, among many, many, others, contributing to a spend of more than £1bn.
Not every player has been a roaring success at Stamford Bridge and some still have plenty to prove before they can be considered a good signing by the Blues.
One ace, however, who has been a good addition is Senegal international Nicolas Jackson, who the club have struck gold with since his arrival from Villarreal as he is now worth a similar amount to reported target Alexander Isak.
How much Chelsea paid for Nicolas Jackson
In the summer of 2023, former Blues boss Mauricio Pochettino swooped to sign the LaLiga star for a fee of slightly more than £30.1m release clause that was in his contract with the Spanish side.
Per Transfermarkt, he is the 31st most-expensive signing in the Premier League side’s history and was cheaper than the likes of Danny Drinkwater, Benoit Badiashile, Michy Batshuayi, and Tiemoue Bakayoko, among others.
Jackson had produced 13 goals and five assists in 38 appearances in all competitions for Villarreal during the 2022/23 campaign, which showed that Chelsea would need to be patient with him as he did not arrive as a finished article who would be likely to fire in 30 or 40 goals.
The 23-year-old star went on to enjoy a mixed first season at Stamford Bridge but there were plenty of signs of promise and his soaring market value shows that it was a sensational bit of business to bring him to the club.
Nicolas Jackson’s current market value
At the time of writing (02/07/24), Jackson is valued at between €82m and €104m by CIES Football Observatory.
Meanwhile, Newcastle star Isak, who Chelsea have reportedly made contact to sign, is valued at between €83m and €106m by the same site, which puts his maximum value at around £90m.
These valuations show that there is not a massive difference between the two of them and shows that the Blues hit the jackpot when they signed Jackson for little more than £30.1m, as his market value has sky rocketed over the last 12 months.
|
23/24 Premier League |
||
|---|---|---|
|
Appearances |
30 |
35 |
|
Goals |
21 |
14 |
|
Big chances missed |
21 |
24 |
|
Conversion rate |
27% |
18% |
|
Assists |
2 |
5 |
|
Big chances created |
5 |
8 |
|
Stats via Sofascore |
||
As you can see in the table above, Isak outperformed the Chelsea man as a goalscorer but the Senegal international did do more to provide high-quality chances for his teammates from a centre-forward position.
Jackson, who scored 17 goals in all competitions last season, is also a year and eight months younger than the Magpies sensation, which means that he has time on his side to develop and improve the goalscoring side of his game.
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The Blues are set to get their man.
Given the money paid to Villarreal, the output on the pitch, and his soaring market value, the 23-year-old ace has been a sensational signing who Chelsea have struck gold on, and hopefully there is plenty more to come from him.