Nicolas Jackson signed for Chelsea early in summer 2023. It was widely expected that a big name, elite striker would follow later in that window, and Jackson (who was very raw and had little senior top flight experience) was going to be more of a backup while he developed.
But we got to the end of that summer, and no other striker came in. Jackson ended up putting in a heroic effort last season, scoring goals and staying fit despite playing a lot of games.
When this summer rolled around, it was a similar story. There were endless links to players – but none of them came to anything. Somehow, we’ve hit a second season in a row with Jackson as our only senior option up top.
It’s led to lots of questions about what happens in the games where Jackson isn’t available. So far we’ve seen a lot of teenage striker Marc Guiu in preseason and the early parts of the campaign, but he’s yet to score and looks far more raw even than Jackson did a year ago.
Strikerless pecking order emerges
According to the Daily Telegraph’s Matt Law, who went on the London is Blue podcast this week, the pecking order is established:
“What I have been told, as it stands at the moment, I think the pecking order will pretty much be Jackson and then Nkunku will have to play there if Jackson has a problem and then after Nkunku, Felix,” Law explained.
So much like last year, the moment Jackson is out, we’re effectively going to a “false 9” setup. Nkunku has done it before and can do a job, despite being a very different player to Jackson. Felix is more in the Nkunku mould. Guiu isn’t even mentioned – will he regret not taking a loan late in the window? Or will he force his way into this rotation through the course of the season?
