Chelsea signs Villarreal striker Nicolas Jackson on eight-year deal.

Nicolas Jackson signs an eight-year contract with Chelsea; in exchange for better payment terms, the Blues paid Villarreal a little bit more than his £30 million release clause. Jackson is the Premier League club’s second summer acquisition after Christopher Nkunku, who cost $52 million.

Villarreal’s Nicolas Jackson has been acquired by Chelsea.

The 22-year-old has signed an eight-year contract with Chelsea after Chelsea offered Villarreal slightly more than his £30.1 million release clause in exchange for more benevolent payment terms.

Following the £52 million acquisition of Christopher Nkunku from RB Leipzig, the Senegalese forward is Mauricio Pochettino’s second summer acquisition since he took over in May.

For Villarreal last season, Jackson scored 12 goals and contributed five assists across all competitions.

The Senegalese forward had a contract in place with Bournemouth for £22.5m, but he failed his medical due to a hamstring issue.

“We are thrilled to welcome Nicolas to Chelsea,” said Chelsea’s co-sporting directors Laurence Stewart and Paul Winstanley. He is a young player with a lot of potential, as evidenced by his performance for Villarreal last year.

We think he’s prepared for this next phase of his career and are eager to see him collaborate with his Chelsea teammates and our new head coach, Mauricio Pochettino.
“.

Jackson had a breakout season, and his late-season play earned him LaLiga player of the month honors in May. This helped Villarreal finish fifth and qualify for the Europa League.

At the World Cup in Qatar, he also played for Senegal, making his international debut against the Netherlands in a group-stage match.

The “sliding doors” incident involving Jackson caused Chelsea to move.

Peter Howitt’s enduring motion picture Sliding Doors recently marked its 25th anniversary.

10 – Only Vinícius Júnior (12) was directly involved in more goals after a carry than Nicolas Jackson (10 – seven goals, three assists) across the big five European leagues in 2022-23. Electric. pic.twitter.com/hLREY5T0t2

— OptaJoe (@OptaJoe) June 19, 2023

It follows Gwyneth Paltrow’s Helen and the two directions her life might go in based on whether or not she boards a train one day.

The Chelsea player on whom Mauricio Pochettino is pinning his hopes has already had his own Sliding Doors moment; Nicolas Jackson was still three years away from being born.

The 22-year-old was on the verge of joining Bournemouth from Villarreal in January, but the deal fell through due to doubts about a hamstring injury the player had sustained. Jackson’s South Coast medical was a failure.

The Cherries had in fact agreed to pay £21 million, but with relegation still a real possibility, they decided against taking a chance on Jackson’s status because they needed as many healthy players as possible.

Jackson would have dispelled those doubts with a scorching finish to the season for the Yellow Submarine, dispelling any worries that he would have primarily played wide of Dominic Solanke, formerly of Chelsea.