Chelsea’s form in the Premier League has really improved lately, but it has still been a difficult season for the club.
While Mauricio Pochettino‘s men were able to beat Everton 6-0 and Manchester United 4-3 — drawing 2-2 with Sheffield United in between — they are still ninth in the table.
Chelsea are only three points behind Newcastle United in sixth, but Europa League qualification would not have been their aim at the start of the season.
It shows just how bad this campaign has been for them.
They were also knocked out of the FA Cup over the weekend, losing 1-0 to Manchester City in the semi-finals. It was a game that saw Nicolas Jackson receive heavy criticism after he wasted several chances.
Ally McCoist not convinced by Chelsea man
With Chelsea just about in the top 10, the whole team and manager probably have to take responsibility for this underwhelming season.
That includes Jackson, who Ally McCoist thinks is partly to blame for the Blues’ struggles this term.
Discussing whether the 22-year-old has done enough to lead Chelsea’s line next season on talkSPORT (22/04/2024 at 09:53), the Rangers legend said: “No, he hasn’t sadly. You know something? As I said earlier, I liken him a little bit to [Rasmus] Hojlund when he was just going through that period when he needed a couple of goals, his confidence looked low. Can’t question either of those guys’ attitude.
“He is 22, signed from Villarreal for the best part of 30 million. He is understandably not the finished article, but I don’t think teams that are hoping to get an opportunity to win a title or want a Champions League, right at the top, I don’t think they can take a chance with somebody in that position.
“I genuinely think they have got to play somebody who can score 20-25 goals a season. He, at this moment in time, is not that man, so I think Chelsea have struggled.”
Should Nicolas Jackson lead Chelsea’s line next season?
If Chelsea’s goal is to return to the Champions League and compete for the title again, then Jackson is not clinical enough to be their first-choice striker, or at least not yet.
However, he should not be discarded. His overall centre-forward play is not bad, while he is going to finish this Premier League campaign on double figures for goals.
Ultimately, he could be a very good deputy to someone like Napoli’s Victor Osimhen.
Osimhen will not come cheap, though. Chelsea will probably have to make the Nigerian one of their most expensive signings of all time to get him through the door.