Chelsea's £60 Million Price Tag on Nicolas Jackson Sparks Transfer Concerns
Chelsea have put a £60 million price tag on Nicolas Jackson as Tottenham and Aston Villa circle, but that valuation is already threatening to choke any deal before it starts.
The 25-year-old forward is back at Cobham after a productive loan at Bayern Munich, where he hit 11 goals in 34 games last season. Bayern had the option to make the move permanent for €65m (£55.5m) and walked away, a decision that now hangs over Chelsea’s stance as they ask for even more.
Fresh from four appearances with Senegal at this summer’s World Cup, Jackson has rejoined Chelsea’s pre-season group with his future hanging in the balance. Xabi Alonso, now charged with shaping the squad in his image, has been handed the final call on what happens next.
For now, the door is open. According to RMC Sport, Chelsea and Alonso are prepared to sell before the window closes, but only if their £60m demand is met. Tottenham, Aston Villa and Atletico Madrid are all on alert, tracking a striker who still carries clear upside but also a hefty risk at that figure.
The fee is already biting. The report describes Chelsea’s valuation as the “main obstacle” to a transfer, and the first signs of a parting of ways surfaced at the weekend. Jackson was left out of the squad entirely as Alonso’s side beat Real Sociedad 3-1 at Stamford Bridge in their final pre-season friendly, a notable omission for a player supposedly in contention.
Chelsea have not stood still in the attacking department. Danny Welbeck has arrived from Brighton in a £5m deal, a low-cost, Premier League-hardened option who adds depth and experience to Alonso’s forward line. With Welbeck through the door and Jackson on the market, the message is blunt: space in the squad will have to be earned or vacated.
Jackson is not the only striker Chelsea are ready to cash in on.
Liam Delap, also missing from the matchday group against Real Sociedad, has been placed in the shop window. The 23-year-old only joined from Ipswich Town last year for £30m, but Chelsea are now seeking around £40m for the former Championship standout.
There is concrete interest. Como, managed by Cesc Fabregas and already home to Trevoh Chalobah after his move earlier this summer, have made an approach to sign Delap. The Serie A club can offer a clear role and a familiar face in Fabregas, yet the player’s stance is firm: his preference is to stay in the Premier League.
So Chelsea wait. On Jackson, they have admirers but a price that scares clubs off. On Delap, they have a market but a player whose ambitions lie in England. With the window ticking down and Alonso reshaping his attack, the question is simple: will anyone blink at those numbers, or will Chelsea be forced to rethink what their strikers are really worth?
