Ian Wright backed Nicolas Jackson on The Overlap and questioned Chelsea's decision to offload him following his start to life at Aston Villa. The 25-year-old Senegal forward has scored seven times in 11 outings since completing a £65 million permanent move to Villa in the summer.
Wright and Neville praise Jackson
Assessing the 25-year-old's resurgence on The Overlap, former Manchester United defender Gary Neville said: "Is Nicolas Jackson the most improved player in the Premier League? I always thought he would be a good signing for someone because he's a handful, I would hate to play against him. I do like him."
Agreeing with Neville's assessment on the same programme, former Arsenal and England striker Wright added: "I'm delighted for him."
Wright also said: "When you watched him at Chelsea, yes he missed chances but everything else about his game... the way he makes runs, plays on the shoulder, his touch... you knew that if he could just start nicking some goals, he would be fine."
He added: "You're looking at him now after scoring a few goals and you can actually see the confidence in him. He could go on a run at Villa, it's up to him now where he goes."
Jackson's Villa return
Jackson scored in three consecutive outings earlier this term and hit a double in Aston Villa's victory over Manchester City. He reunited at Villa with his former Villarreal manager Unai Emery.
Chelsea exit and Bayern loan
Chelsea recruited Jackson from Villarreal in 2023. He scored 17 goals across all competitions in his debut campaign at Chelsea, before being sent on loan to Bayern Munich last term after his output dipped during the 2024-25 season.
The Bayern loan included a £14m loan fee and a £56m permanent obligation to buy if Jackson reached specific performance thresholds, including a set number of appearances. He returned to Chelsea in the summer after not meeting those conditions, and Chelsea then approved his £65m sale to Aston Villa.
Chelsea's current forward options
Joao Pedro has scored five goals in his opening six outings for Chelsea. He missed two matches, including Chelsea's Carabao Cup last-16 loss to Liverpool on Wednesday, and remains unavailable for Chelsea's home clash against United on Saturday.
