The secrets of Nicolas Jackson’s rise to become Chelsea’s elite executioner

Enzo Maresca could do with sourcing a few bottles of Hiruzta Txakoli for Unai Emery’s visit to Stamford Bridge on Sunday – that white wine from the Spaniard’s hometown vineyard in Hondarribia, Gipuzkoa, being his preferred poison.

For Aston Villa’s manager is worthy of gratitude, having been a catalyst in Nicolas Jackson becoming the increasingly elite executioner he is for Chelsea today.

While their association at Villarreal only amounted to 27 appearances in all, Jackson himself deemed it defining. So much so that the 23-year-old Senegalese even took the time to send thanks to Emery after being rewarded his contract bump at Stamford Bridge in September.

Rarely will you hear of a Premier League player thanking a rival club’s manager after penning an extension, but Jackson did. To appreciate why, first it is worth going back to when he had not yet received his Emery education.

When he was a bare-footed street footballer operating on instincts with friends in the town of Ziguinchor, Senegal. When he played on soil so orange it resembled the surface of Mars and, given the pristine pitches on which he now practises, it was indeed a world away.

Jackson was 16 years old before he owned his first pair of football boots, a second-hand set bought for him by his mother, Jeanne Malack, after she sacrificed her wages from selling groundnuts, watermelons, whatever she could grow on the farm where she worked tirelessly.

The striker, 23, has gone from strength-to-strength at Stamford Bridge under Enzo Maresca

Aston Villa boss Unai Emery was a catalyst for Jackson’s success when they were at Villarreal

It took time for the teenager to adapt to that new sensation, wearing them while sporting his own homemade Cristiano Ronaldo jersey – a plain T-shirt with ‘Ronaldo’ and ‘7’ scribbled in pen on its back.

It was in 2018 when Diomansy Kamara – the former Portsmouth, West Brom and Fulham striker who won 50 caps for Senegal – arranged a tournament for Ziguinchor’s talents to showcase their skillsets. Jackson, then 17, impressed enough to be snapped up by Casa Sports, his local club competing in the Senegalese top tier as he experienced proper, organised, professional football for the first time.

It was mere months before he began attracting attention from Europe’s elite. First from Benfica in Portugal, though that trial was unsuccessful. Then from Villarreal in Spain.

That was a success as, aged 18, the ‘Senegalese Neymar’ – as he had become known locally – signed for the La Liga side in September 2019, initially representing their B team under Miguel Alvarez.

The arrival in July 2020 of Emery at Villarreal was game-changing for Jackson. He had speed, he could dribble, he had stamina, but his rawness needed refining.

After a loan with Mirandes in the Spanish second division, Emery got to work, one order being that he had to stop dropping deep like a false nine. It was drilled into Jackson that he should focus on remaining a fixed No 9, letting the ball find him rather than vice versa and bursting in behind the opposition back line.

His upbringing meant he had never been a student of a footballing school. Villarreal’s other players had been produced by acclaimed academies – Dani Parejo was an alumnus of Real Madrid, for example – but Jackson had come from the vibes-based streets of Senegal.

Emery’s teachings helped shape him as he began to learn the best ways to apply his attacking attributes, with Jackson also told to work on perfecting his composure in the penalty area.

Emery gave Jackson a chance and helped the striker to develop his all-round attacking game

Jackson’s off the ball work is a major attribute, while he is also outperforming his xG statistics

His rise from a bare-footed street footballer in Senegal to star striker has been remarkable

Mail Sport was told this week that when Boulaye Dia and Paco Alcacer left Villarreal in August 2022, club chiefs encouraged Emery to sign a striker, especially with Arnaut Danjuma sidelined.

He politely told them not to waste their money as he had a plan – to fast-track Jackson. As one source says: ‘Unai was the one who said, “You can start your journey with us”. He gave him that opportunity, which Nicolas took. He supported him in the best way.’

Jackson was installed as Emery’s starting striker in the 2022-23 season but when his mentor left to become manager of Villa midway through that campaign – the Premier League club triggering Emery’s £5.2million release clause – the 21-year-old likewise explored his own exit.

This is where those close to Jackson like to cite a story which shows his resilience – the tale of how he responded when his dream move to the Premier League collapsed in January 2023.

Jackson was set to join Bournemouth from Villarreal for £20.8m, even flying to the South Coast of England to finalise the transfer. But the buying club were concerned by a hamstring injury he was carrying at the time, fearing a lengthy layoff as they failed his medical.

Bournemouth have since accepted they made a mistake – a major one as Jackson refused to be dragged down by the dejection of rejection. Rather he was driven by it, returning for Villarreal in March and scoring 10 La Liga goals in April and May – more than Chelsea managed collectively in the Premier League in those same months as they finished 12th under Frank Lampard.

By the summer, Villarreal’s valuation had increased from the £20.8m previously agreed with Bournemouth. Chelsea paid £32m to sign him in June 2023 but ask the Blues today and they will tell you he is worth twice that – at least – after his impressive performances in the Premier League this season.

It was not all rosy in his first season, however, in 2023-24, as he missed more than he scored and became a figure of run for rival fans and a subject of ire for Chelsea supporters. He even had a run-in with Blues fan who shouted at him to ‘wake up’ during a 2-0 loss to Brentford in October 2023, going over to the fan and shouting back. But brickbats are plaudits now.

It was not all rosy in his first season, however, in 2023-24, as he missed more than he scored

Mauricio Pochettino also flirted with using Jackson as a left winger given his wastefulness

But Maresca is a major fan of the 23-year-old and has only ever seen him as a striker for his team

It is hard not to look at Jackson through the lens of Didier Drogba as an African striker who took the No 15 upon arriving at Stamford Bridge. Yet the Senegalese is tired of those comparisons, telling those who bring it up that one is a ‘legend’ of Chelsea while he is a ‘nobody’ still finding his way.

Harsh on himself, perhaps, but not the worst mindset to have. Mind, you, it is worth noting Drogba scored 23 goals in his first 57 games for Chelsea, and Jackson is currently sitting on 24 from 57, with it now over to Maresca to continue what Emery started those years ago in Spain.

He is far from the finished article but Chelsea are pleased with Jackson’s progress. Only Erling Haaland and Ollie Watkins have scored more non-penalty goals since the start of last season, and he is now tied down until 2033 after agreeing his two-year extension.

The Blues issue relatively low base salaries by Premier League standards to keep their starlets hungry, but their contracts are heavily incentivised with bonuses.

‘They will reward you if you prove you are worth it,’ was how one source put it to Mail Sport this week. ‘Nicolas was put under pressure to come to Chelsea and immediately handle being a starter but he did that. It’s nice that you can say he’s still incredibly raw. He will get even better over time.’

It was while being interviewed in the summer for the Chelsea vacancy that Maresca told the club’s sporting directors Paul Winstanley and Laurence Stewart he was ‘in love’ with the squad they had assembled, their acquisition of Jackson included.

Discussions were held over whether they should sign another striker – and they came close to nabbing Victor Osimhen from Napoli – but Maresca insisted he was perfectly happy with Jackson leading his front line if nobody else came in.

For good reason, too. Whereas the Italian’s predecessor Mauricio Pochettino flirted with using Jackson as a left winger – as he did in their 3-1 FA Cup win over Villa last season – Maresca has only ever seen him as a striker.

Chelsea were in for a striker in the summer-  and they came close to nabbing Victor Osimhen from Napoli – but Maresca insisted he was perfectly happy with Jackson if nothing materialised

It is hard not to look at Jackson through the lens of Didier Drogba as an African striker who took the No 15 upon arriving at Stamford Bridge, but Jackson actually has better stats after 57 games

Of all his attributes, it is what he contributes off the ball which his head coach admires as much as anything. Jackson is fifth out of all Premier League’s players for pressures applied on opposition defenders in the final third, fourth for total runs made out of possession, and is outperforming his xG (expected goals) statistics – which shows him to be a better-than-average finisher.

Jackson has never forgotten where he came from, sending truckloads of food for locals in Ziguinchor, Senegal, and Banjul, the capital of the Gambia – where he was born and raised until his family moved in his late teens, to escape the fractious aftermath of elections that spelled the end of the country’s two-decade-long military dictatorship.

He also returned to Cobham after the most recent international break wearing traditional African clothing and winning compliments from Moises Caicedo, his close friend who is handled by the same agency, Epic Sports.

Nor is Jackson one to forget those who helped him along the way, hence why we can expect a warm embrace when he sees Emery at Stamford Bridge. Villa’s manager gave the striker his start in elite football, but will hope he temporary forgets his teachings for 90 minutes on Sunday.