Chelsea striker Nicolas Jackson had one decent opportunity against Brentford earlier that he could not capitalise on.
In the first half of the west London derby between Chelsea and Brentford, Nicolas Jackson was running towards goal and instead of getting a shot away, the 22-year-old ended up doing a couple of failed step overs.
Jason Cundy, who was commentating on the game for the club’s official website (02/03/2024 at 15:23), said that he did not need to try and perform the skill.
Jackson had an even better opportunity to score shortly after, rounding Mark Flekken, but his shot was cleared off the line.
However, the Senegal international eventually found the back of the net with a brilliant header 10 minutes before half-time.
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Jason Cundy not impressed with Nicolas Jackson’s step overs
It is fair to say that Cundy was not thrilled to see Jackson trying to do step overs in the first half of Chelsea’s west London derby.
“I don’t know why he’s tried a step over,” the former Blues defender said. “He doesn’t need to. He’s done two! He’s done two step overs. In the end, he’s caught his own heel.”
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Nicolas Jackson showed promise versus Brentford
It was one of those games where Jackson again missed chances. Last month, Scott Minto actually claimed that the forward was not ready to lead Chelsea’s line.
However, the fact that Jackson keeps on getting opportunities should be seen as a positive. He is making good runs and getting into the right positions and did eventually get his first-half goal.
Chelsea still look likely to sign a new striker in the summer. It has been reported that the club already tried to recruit Sporting Lisbon’s Viktor Gyokeres in January, so they do appear to be in the market for a centre-forward.
However, even if Jackson, who cost Chelsea £32m (The Guardian), is not a starter next season, he has probably done enough this term to retain a spot in the squad and play games in the 2024/25 campaign.
