Tony Cascarino says Chelsea have a player who can score 25 goals next season if he improves one element of his game.
Chelsea have been up and down this season and are evidently in a transitional phase, with a plethora of new players still bedding in.
Though, they have found some consistency towards the end of the campaign and now have the chance to secure a top-six finish with a win over Bournemouth at Stamford Bridge on Sunday.
Mauricio Pochettino’s men have put together four wins on the bounce and it seems they’ll be much stronger next term.
That said, so will one £32m player, who Cascarino thinks can score 25.
Tony Cascarino thinks Nicolas Jackson can score 25 goals next season
Speaking on talkSPORT‘s Sunday show (8:51am), Cascarino hailed many of Nicolas Jackson’s attributes and believes he can score 25 goals next season if he polishes his finishing.
“I have seen a lot of him (Christopher Nkunku). He is not really a natural forward, that’s where Jackson fits in,” the former Aston Villa forward said.
“Say, if Jackson improves 20% on his finishing, he is going to get 25 goals, 20 goals in the Premier League because he has missed so many chances. He is clearly as guilty as anybody of not finishing as many chances as he has had, but there is a lot to like about him.
“He is so quick. He can be direct and quick. I just think that the choices he makes in the final part of his game, is the final part of his jigsaw really because I think he has a lot to offer to Chelsea.”
Mauricio Pochettino has a big decision to make
The Chelsea boss now has a big decision to make, as he must either place his trust in Jackson to lead the line or invest in a new striker.
Given Jackson has netted 17 goals in his debut campaign, it’d feel a little harsh if the club were to replace him.
As Cascarino alluded to, he has a lot of the attributes needed to be a top-class forward – his movement in particular is excellent.
So perhaps Pochettino should hold off on the mega-money signing for at least another summer, giving Jackson the opportunity to develop whilst playing regular football.