Former England striker Gary Lineker believes Chelsea forward Nicolas Jackson can reach 'top class' status, even though he acknowledges Jackson isn't a natural finisher. Jackson has shown promise this season with nine goals, helping Chelsea become surprise title contenders.
Gary Lineker has backed Chelsea striker Nicolas Jackson to become ‘top-class’ despite admitting he has a glaring weakness. Jackson enjoyed a promising first-half to the 2024-25 campaign, scoring nine goals to help Chelsea emerge as surprise title contenders in the Premier League .
Chelsea spent £32m to sign Jackson from Villarreal in the summer of 2023 but he endured a mixed first season at Stamford Bridge, contributing 17 goals in all competitions but also attracting criticism for some wayward finishing. Jackson, 23, appeared to take his game to another level at the start of this season but went four games without a goal over Christmas as Chelsea suffered a major wobble. The Blues were named as Liverpool’s biggest rival for the title less than a month ago but failed to beat relegation-battlers Everton before losing to west London rivals Fulham and newly-promoted Ipswich Town. Chelsea’s poor run of form continued on Saturday as Enzo Maresca’s side were held to a 1-1 draw by another team sitting in the bottom-half of the table, Crystal Palace. While Jackson has only scored once since the start of December, ex-England striker Lineker believes he can develop into a ‘top-class’ player at Stamford Bridge – despite the fact he is ‘not a natural finisher’. Chelsea striker Nicolas Jackson before a Premier League game (Picture: Getty) ‘There’s a lot of good in his game,’ Lineker said while discussing Jackson on The Rest is Football podcast. ‘His movement is really good. It’s not easy if you’re not a natural finisher and I don’t think he is one. ‘But if he can improve that side of his game and work at it in training, he could be top class
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