It has been an up and down season for Nicolas Jackson at Chelsea following his move from Villarreal last summer.
The striker has received a lot of criticism, especially at the beginning of the campaign, but he has scored in some big games for Chelsea, while his goal record is also not terrible.
Nicolas Jackson netted a hat-trick against London rivals Tottenham Hotspur back in November before following that up with a strike versus Manchester City.
In total, Jackson has scored 12 goals in 32 appearances for Mauricio Pochettino‘s side. It is not a bad record for a 22-year-old playing in England for the first time.
He has squandered a lot of opportunities, something that the player himself has acknowledged, but that is strangely an encouraging sign, especially when you look at the forwards who have missed the most big chances in the Premier League this term.
How many big chances has Nicolas Jackson missed this season?
According to WhoScored, Jackson has missed a total of 15 big chances in the current Premier League campaign.
It is a lot, but three players have actually missed more: Erling Haaland (26), Darwin Nunez (22) and Ollie Watkins (18).
Jackson is in quite good company, then, and what it shows is that the Senegal international is getting into the right positions.
The problem, however, is Jackson’s finishing has not been as good as Haaland and Watkins’. They have scored 18 and 16 goals respectively, while he is yet to reach double figures in the top flight.
It is an area of his game that he needs to improve. And if Jackson can, based on the opportunities the former Villarreal man is getting, he could end up becoming one of the most prolific No.9s in the division.
What could hold Nicolas Jackson back at Chelsea?
There is no guarantee that Jackson can improve his finishing enough to become a 20-goal Premier League striker.
But as well as that, Chelsea look set to enter the transfer market for a new centre-forward, which could see Jackson lose his place in Pochettino’s team and halt his development.
For example, it has been claimed that scouts at Chelsea have already recommended that RB Leipzig’s Benjamin Sesko be signed in the summer.
The arrival of the Slovenian or another centre-forward could end up being a real barrier to Jackson.
But if that pathway remains open for him and he can really improve his finishing, then Chelsea and Pochettino could have a really deadly striker on their hands.