Gyökeres. Šeško. Ekitiké. For me, none of them are automatically a better striker than Nicolas Jackson. Call me crazy, but I genuinely believe that. 13 goals for Villarreal. 17 non-penalty goals for Chelsea. 10+ goals during his time at Bayern. For a young striker, those are elite numbers. Yes, Jackson can be frustrating. He misses chances, makes poor decisions and can be chaotic in front of goal. But which young striker gives you the same combination of pace, movement, pressing and link-up play? Look at Cole Palmer. Palmer was at his best when Jackson was playing around him. Jackson’s movement drags defenders away, creates space and gives Palmer someone to combine with. His link-up play is massively underrated. Even Unai Emery — the same manager who worked with Jackson at Villarreal — clearly sees something in him. If Emery wants Jackson to replace Ollie Watkins, that tells you everything. If Villa are willing to pay £60m+ for him, I honestly think Jackson is worth that in this market. My biggest concern is that we’re selling him to another Premier League club that could become a problem for us. We’ve already seen what happened with Kai Havertz at Arsenal. I really hope Jackson doesn’t come back to punish us in the same way. But financially, Chelsea have still done very well here. Signed Jackson for £32m. Generated £14.3m+ from his Bayern loan. Now potentially selling him for £60m+. That’s £74.3m+ generated from a player we originally signed for £32m, meaning Chelsea could generate £42.3m+ more than the original transfer fee before even considering other costs and accounting treatment. It’s a win for everyone: Chelsea get a major fee and clear another squad spot. Villa/Unai Emery get the striker they want. Jackson gets a fresh start and the opportunity to prove himself in the Premier League. I just hope we don’t look back in two years and ask ourselves why we sold him to Villa. 😭