Chelsea sign Villarreal forward Nicolas Jackson: Decoding his stats
Chelsea have signed Villarreal forward Nicolas Jackson on an eight-year deal. He is Chelsea's second summer signing of 2023 after the £52m deal for France forward Christopher Nkunku from RB Leipzig. Jackson has joined Chelsea for €37m (£31.8m). He completed his medical on Sunday. As per The Guardian, Jackson attracted interest from Aston Villa and Everton, but Chelsea got the job done. Here's more.
A look at his career stats
Jackson has joined Chelsea after a breakthrough 2022-23 season for Spanish side Villarreal. He went on to score 13 goals in 38 games, including nine in the final eight La Liga games. He made his senior team debut for Villarreal in 2021-22, making 10 appearances. However, he didn't score a goal. He played for Villarreal B for the majority of 2021-22, scoring seven times.
Breaking down his La Liga 2022-23 season in numbers
Jackson made 26 appearances in La Liga last season, scoring 12 times. As per Opta, he clocked 37 shots (excluding blocks), managing 23 of them on target. He made four assists and created 22 chances. He hit the woodwork once. Jackson attempted 318 passes and completed 243 with an accuracy of 76.42%. He completed 23 take-ons and made 14 tackles.
'We are excited to welcome Nicolas to Chelsea'
Chelsea's co-sporting directors Laurence Stewart and Paul Winstanley said: "We are excited to welcome Nicolas to Chelsea. He 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," they added.
Hear from Jackson!
Chelsea are busy with a lot of departures this summer
Chelsea midfielder Mateo Kovacic joined Premier League champions Manchester City in a £30m move. As per BBC, the fee is understood to be worth an initial £25m guaranteed plus £5m in performance-related add-ons. Kai Havertz joined Arsenal for a £65m fee. Mason Mount is set to join Manchester United for £60m, including £5m add-ons. Ruben Loftus-Cheek has joined AC Milan (£15m plus add-ons).
Several players have moved to Saudi; Azpilicueta to depart
Chelsea midfielder N'Golo Kante completed a move to Saudi Arabian club Al-Ittihad. Kalidou Koulibaly and Edouard Mendy have joined Al Hilal and Al Ahli respectively. Meanwhile, Hakim Ziyech is joining Al-Nassr. Also, Cesar Azpilicueta is discussing a possible move to Atletico Madrid.
