Jackson set for Bayern loan & Nkunku joins Milan

Chelsea’s Nicolas Jackson will join Munich, Bayern on loan with an option to purchase, and Christopher Nkunku has signed for AC Milan for $ 36 million.

Nkunku, 27, has completed a two-year contract with the Serie A side and has accepted a five-year deal.

Meanwhile, Jackson’s fellow attacker will be paid a £13 million (15 million euros) initial loan, while Bayern will have a £56.2 million (65 million euro) purchase option.

Jackson, 24, has already entered a pre-contract with Bayern, been given permission to travel there, and has a sell-on clause written in the agreement.

The financial position of Chelsea will be further improved by the sale of Nkunku in addition to Jackson’s pending departure.

After paying about £277 million for new signings, the Blues have made about £309 million from player sales this summer.

Due to Uefa sanctions, including a fine of 31 million euros (£26.77 million), Chelsea is concerned about keeping a “positive transfer balance” in this window to sign new players for the Champions League.

Nkunku, who moved from RB Leipzig for about £52 million in 2023, helped the Blues win 18 goals and contribute five assists in 62 games.

Nkunku and Jackson both signed for Chelsea in 2023, but Liam Delap and Joao Pedro, both of whom arrived from Brighton, and Liam Delap from Ipswich, both saw their opportunities stymied.

Joao Pedro, 23, scored three goals for Chelsea during the Club World Cup and failed to score in the Premier League with a goal against West Ham on Friday, lifting them 5-1.

Delap, 22, also scored in Chelsea’s opening three games of the summer’s Club World Cup, but he injured his hamstring in a match against Fulham on Saturday and was immediately substituted. He also scored in the summer’s Club World Cup.

Jackson started for Chelsea twice during his previous two seasons, but he hasn’t featured since making a substitute appearance in their semi-final victory over Fluminense in the Club World Cup in July.

The former Villarreal forward has scored 24 goals in 65 Premier League appearances.

However, he has fallen short of the seven goals he had hoped to score, which is the second-most of any top flight player.

His track record in what Opta calls “big chances” has been a key factor.

In comparison to other top forwards, Jackson has only scored 18 of 61 of these opportunities (29%), which is a relatively low conversion rate.

He didn’t play in either of Chelsea’s opening league games, a 5-1 victory at West Ham and a goalless draw at home to Crystal Palace, as a substitute in the club’s victory over Paris St-Germain in the Club World Cup final.

A red card at Newcastle almost cost Jackson’s side a top-five spot in Premier League and Champions League football at the beginning of the season.

Sven Botman, the Magpies’ defender, was rash and poorly disciplined when he elbowed him.

After receiving another red card for a high foot in Flamengo’s match at the Club World Cup, he was then simultaneously expelled from both competitions.

Multiple sources with knowledge of the Chelsea squad reveal how some in the hierarchy thought Jackson was a different player and began to lose faith in him.

Despite Maresca’s claim in April that he wanted a copy of Nico and that Jackson was his “perfect number nine,” he later refuted that claim.

Many club members and players close to the player think the striker’s move to the Blues was successful.

They point out that Chelsea only paid $32 million to sign Villarreal’s player from the same club and that he was playing on sandy pitches in Africa without access to elite-level coaching from Europe six years ago.

However, due to his rapid rise, fans and pundits frequently harshly criticized him as the weak link.

After receiving criticism from former midfielder John Obi Mikel, with whom he argued on social media, the pressure began to mount against him.

In his first season, Jackson also netted 14 goals to the Ivorian’s 10, a feat that also surpasses the legendary Chelsea player Didier Drogba. In his final 50 games, he equaled one of Africa’s top strikers at Stamford Bridge with 21 goals.

In reality, Jackson was a better goalkeeper overall than a finisher overall. His importance was frequently linked to Chelsea’s lack of alternatives during his two-year club career.

His loan payments at Bayern are among the largest ever, surpassing those made by only Giovani Lo Celso and two other Alvaro Morata moves.