Chelsea have signed Nicolas Jackson from Villarreal on a £32m deal, with the striker signing an eight-year deal at Stamford Bridge.
The Blues have been discussing with the Senegaless over a move to Stamford Bridge. They reportedly paid Villarreal slightly more than his £30.1m release clause to land the striker, as they were desperate to secure a deal for the highly-rated forward, who enjoyed a successful breakout year with Villarreal last season.
The 21-year-old scored 13 goals last season, with nine of those goals coming in his last eight games as the Yellow Submarine finished fifth in the La Liga standings.
Speaking about Jackson, Chelsea’s co-sporting directors Laurence Stewart and Paul Winstanley said: “We are excited to welcome Nicolas to Chelsea.
“Jackson is a young player with big potential, as he showcased for Villarreal last season.
“We believe he is ready for this next step in his career and look forward to him working with our new head coach, Mauricio Pochettino, and his Chelsea teammates.”
Blue suits him, doesn’t it? 💧 pic.twitter.com/9AN7ISPioL
— Chelsea FC (@ChelseaFC) June 30, 2023
Meanwhile, Jackson has played twice for Senegal. He becomes Chelsea’s second summer first-team arrival after the club signed Christopher Nkunku from RB Leipzig earlier in the transfer window.
His arrival continues a busy transfer window for Chelsea amid a massive summer clear-out. The Blues are looking to trim their squad following Todd Boehly’s £600m splurge last season and have already parted ways with Ruben Loftus-Cheek, Édouard Mendy, N’Golo Kante, Kalidou Kouilbaly and Cesar Azpilicueta, with Mason Mount, Hakim Ziyech and Christian Pulisic still to follow.
