Chelsea forward Nicolas Jackson missed a couple of key chances against Crystal Palace (Image: Getty)
Former star John Obi Mikel has accused Nicolas Jackson of not scoring enough after the forward drew another blank in Saturday’s 1-1 draw with . The Blues’ lack of composure in the final third saw ’s side drop more crucial points in the .
Jackson has endured his worst run of the campaign, failing to score in four top-flight matches. He missed a couple of excellent chances at Selhurst Park.
The 23-year-old has scored nine times this season but Mikel does not believe that is enough. He says that Victor Osimhen or Viktor Gyokeres must be signed to ensure can compete for the title.
“We are creating chances, we are still playing well, we are still doing the right things but we are not clinical enough, we’re not scoring goals,” Mikel said on Podcast.
“We have talked about getting another top, top striker who can win us these kind of games, difficult games where if Nicolas Jackson is not firing on all cylinders you can give him a rest and then get someone else to come into the team and try to win us games and score goals.
“We are not clinical enough, he is not scoring enough goals. He puts himself in the right positions but then he’s not finishing, he’s not scoring enough.
“If we had Victor Osimhen or the guy from Sporting, Viktor Gyokeres, trust me, we’d still be competing for the .”
Maresca was frustrated with the draw at Palace, which left winless in the in four matches. However, the Italian coach refused to blame Jackson and insisted that the Senegal international had a good game.
John Obi Mikel has accused Nicolas Jackson of not scoring enough (Image: Obi One Podcast / YouTube)
“For a striker, sometimes all the chances they score and sometimes they have chances and don’t score,” Maresca said.
“The important thing is Nico today had two or three clear chances – so he is there, he is ready and hopefully next time he can be a little bit more lucky but overall, I think Nico did a good game today.”
were widely linked with a new striker last summer but ultimately placed trust in Jackson, who enjoyed a positive end to the 2023-24 campaign. Osimhen was reportedly a target but he ultimately joined Galatasaray on loan from Napoli after the English transfer window closed.
Interest in Gyokeres has been rife across Europe and will need to compete with the likes of and for the Swede’s signature.