Unsurprisingly, the first big-money sale of the summer for the Submarine is Nico Jackson, on his way to the EPL and Chelsea for “just over” €35m, to be paid in instalments. There will probably be a sell clause of some kind, details are not yet known.
Bournemouth will be splashing out, having called off their January signing due to medical issues, while Villarreal got a few more months of their breakout season and more money at the end.
Jackson was signed in the summer of 2019 by the Senegalese club Casa Sports, having just turned 18 and already nicknamed the “Senegalese Neymar”. He broke into our U19 team, then the B team, but was loaned out for most of the 2020-21 season to second division side Mirandés, where he scored one goal and didn’t impress all that much.
Back at Villarreal B the following season, he had a breakout season, scoring five goals, twice more in the promotion playoffs and playing at the World Cup in Senegal. And then, 2022-23, which was really a tale of two seasons. From August to December he appeared in 14 games and scored one goal, then was sidelined for almost three months with the hip problem that scuppered the Bournemouth deal.
But from April onwards, he mourned: 10 goals and 2 assists in 11 games, 10 goals in just 780 minutes of football, was Player of the Month in the League in May and ended his career at Villa -real with a goal against. Atlético Madrid.
€35m is probably reasonable for someone with such a small number of games at the top level, although watching him over the last couple of months, his finishing has improved dramatically and we could be looking at a player worth twice as much quite quickly In any case, great business for Villarreal, we wish Nico all the best in the EPL, and thanks for the great memories!
