Nicolas Jackson is set to return to Chelsea FC this summer. Nevertheless, the London club reportedly remains keen to sell the striker.
According to The Athletic, Chelsea have slapped a hefty €70m price tag on the striker, who remains on loan at Bayern Munich until the end of the season.
Chelsea loaned Jackson to Bayern Munich last summer, and the Senegalese forward has fulfilled his role as backup to Harry Kane reasonably well in recent weeks. Nevertheless, he has no future at the club, Bayern's sporting director Max Eberl confirmed. Jackson will leave S?bener Stra?e at the end of the season, Eberl said.
Bayern paid Chelsea an unusually high €16.5 million loan fee for Jackson, and could have made the move permanent for an additional €65 million.
Could Nicolas Jackson actually have a future at Chelsea?
Jackson remains under contract at Chelsea until 2033, having joined the club in 2023 for a €37 million fee paid to Villarreal. With more than a decade left on his deal, the Blues see the €70 million asking price as a fair valuation for the forward, who has scored ten goals and provided four assists in roughly 1,150 minutes for Bayern.
According to The Athletic, Chelsea have yet to decide whether to sell the Senegalese international this summer or give him a second chance to prove his worth. That call will also hinge on the new manager's plans for the forward. Liam Rosenior, who replaced Enzo Maresca in January, has already been dismissed. Until the end of the season, former assistant Calum McFarlane will take charge on an interim basis, and the club has yet to confirm a permanent successor. The favourite to take the job is former world-class player Cesc Fabregas, who spent four and a half years as a professional at Chelsea and is currently causing a sensation with Como in Serie A.
Nicolas Jackson is generating significant interest in Italy.
Should Chelsea ultimately decide to sell Jackson, the process could be complicated by their very high asking price. According to The Athletic, the club might therefore opt for another loan deal for Jackson, complete with an option-to-buy or an obligation-to-buy clause.
Juventus and AC Milan have recently been linked with the forward, who made 81 appearances for Chelsea in the two seasons before his move to Munich, scoring 30 goals and providing 12 assists.