Alan Shearer has described the amount of minutes Nicolas Jackson has had to play this season as "unfair" after the striker netted his 17th goal of the season at the weekend.
The 22-year-old forward headed in his 17th goal in all competitions for Chelsea in his debut season in England. Signed for £30million last summer from Villarreal, the club viewed Jackson as someone that could make an immediate impact but they had planned on him being almost a bit-part player, football.london understands.
Jackson has played over 3600 minutes in all competitions for the Blues this season – and that is despite him missing almost a month of action after representing Senegal at the Africa Cup of Nations. The numerous injuries Christopher Nkunku has suffered this season and Chelsea's decision to allow Armando Broja to leave the club on loan in January have meant Jackson, for the most part, has been the Blues' only recognised striker.
Shearer is spot on in his analysis of Jackson. The Premier League's all-time top goal scorer recognises the difficulties attached to Jackson's first season in a new country which makes his 17-goal tally even more impressive.
"I just think it's been unfair on him this season a lot because he has had to play most of the games and clearly he is very raw," Shearer said on The Rest is Football podcast. "He should have been in and out most of the times during the season rather than being a regular just to sit back and learn. It would take the pressure off him.
"Put him in when needs be and take him out when needs be. But he's had to play the vast majority which has been unfair for him because he's not ready for that.
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"He's definitely got talent. He is a really good runner with the ball, he runs really well in behind which defenders hate. He has plenty of pace.
"He does have to brush up on plenty of things including his finishing which is probably the most important thing but he can improve on that. We know that."
Chelsea are widely expected to be busy in the summer transfer window and bringing in a new striker, football.london understands, is right at the top of the club's agenda. If the Blues can achieve that then short-term pain for Jackson, in terms of his minutes being reduced next term, may well prove to be long-term gain.
The plan this season for the Senegal international was for him to take his time in adapting to life in England while not being relied on too much on the pitch. But circumstances have seen him have an overwhelming responsibility to score goals for Chelsea.
And while his finishing at times has been erratic, the fact he has found himself in such dangerous positions is definitely a positive sign. His off-the-ball movement has been very good and defenders seem to find it really difficult to contain his on-the-shoulder runs. His lightning speed makes him incredibly difficult to keep tabs with when he is running in behind.
Jackson's goal against Nottingham Forest on Saturday, which turned out to be the match-winning moment at the City Ground, took his tally above Didier Drogba's during his first season at Chelsea. Despite this, the striker knows there is still so much more to come in a Blues shirt.
Speaking to Sky Sports earlier in the month, Jackson said: "I think I should have scored more with the chances I missed. It's good, but not what I wanted to be when I came – to play Champions League next season. Everything happens for a reason and we try to fight next year.
"Even if I scored 10 or 15, the most important thing is for the the team to be as high as possible and make the fans happy. Then the goals will come.
"I'm trying to improve every day. The most important [thing] is being available for the team, helping the team and playing. I miss a lot but I'm trying to create more chances and score more. Hopefully next year it's going to be better."
There has been a great quantity of criticism towards Jackson this season. And this is not helped by social media and its ability to write a player off and ignore every bit of context surrounding him.
Shearer was spot on in his assessment of Jackson. I'm not too sure why other pundits sometimes fail to add context – which is absolutely imperative – to the situation of Jackson.
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