Aston Villa Complete Signing Of Nicolas Jackson - Why Did Chelsea Sell The £65m Striker? | OneFootball

Chelsea have resolved their surplus of strikers with several departures.

Chelsea have confirmed the departure of Nicolas Jackson after agreeing a deal with Aston Villa.

The 25-year-old has left Chelsea after three seasons at the club following his arrival in 2023 for £32 million from Villarreal.

Jackson spent last season on loan at Bayern Munich, and it appeared the writing was on the wall over his long-term future at Stamford Bridge.

The German club opted not to sign Jackson permanently, and the Senegal international returned to Chelsea for pre-season after his World Cup involvement.

But a decision was made to sell Jackson after their valuation was met by Aston Villa, who will pay up to £65m for the striker.

Chelsea will receive an initial £47.5m, plus up to £17.5m in add-ons, some of which are believed to be very achievable.

Chelsea also recouped around £15m in loan fees from Bayern Munich, bringing their potential fee for Jackson to £80m and offering the club significant profit on the initial fee they paid to bring him in three years ago.

Jackson returned 30 goals and 12 assists in 81 appearances in all competitions for Chelsea.

Why have Chelsea sold Nicolas Jackson?

Jackson's time at Chelsea can be classed as a success. He was brought in and scored 14 Premier League goals in his debut season at Stamford Bridge in 2023-24.

He followed that up in 2024-25 with 10 league goals, despite a hamstring setback midway through the campaign.

After Christopher Nkunku's injury in pre-season in the summer of 2023, the pressure on Jackson immediately increased to become Chelsea's leading goalscorer and be the difference-maker in games.

A couple of years on, and with another new manager at Chelsea, this time Xabi Alonso, Chelsea decided to sell Jackson.

They wanted three strikers for 2026-27, and two spots were guaranteed. Joao Pedro is Chelsea's number one striker, and Danny Welbeck was signed from Brighton and Hove Albion as a backup, leaving one spot remaining.

Liam Delap, Marc Guiu and Emmanuel Emegha were all competing for that spot with Jackson.

But it was decided to keep Emegha, who signed from RC Strasbourg this summer, leaving Jackson, Delap and Guiu surplus to requirements.

Delap departed for Nottingham Forest in a deal worth up to £50m, while Guiu is on the verge of joining RB Leipzig on a permanent basis.

Jackson heads to Villa Park to reunite with a familiar face, Emery, with whom he worked at Villarreal.