Nicolas Jackson sends one-word message to Enzo Fernandez after Chelsea latest
Enzo Fernandez and Nicolas Jackson both got on the scoresheet for Chelsea in their UEFA Conference League final victory.
Chelsea put Real Betis to the sword in Wroclaw on 28 May with a deserved 4-1 win, and brought the curtain down on an ultimately successful first season in charge for Enzo Maresca with silverware in hand.
The Blues’ boss had already secured Champions League football at the first attempt with his side’s 1-0 win at Nottingham Forest on the Premier League’s final day, capped off by the Conference League title.
A financial windfall of £18million as a result will add to Chelsea‘s Champions League-enforced transfer kitty, but this could spell doom for the first-team prospects of one player who netted in that decider.
Jackson celebrates Chelsea success as competition arrives
Although Cole Palmer deservedly won man of the match at Wroclaw Stadium, his two assists came in a display which saw four different Blues goalscorers blow Betis away with four goals in the last 25 minutes.
Fernandez and Jackson’s respective 65th and 70th-minute goals spun the match on its head after Abde Ezzalzouli’s early opener for the Spanish side, before Jadon Sancho and Moises Caicedo‘s late strikes.
Jackson started the match as the most fresh-legged of any Chelsea player, having missed their last two Premier League matches after a ban for his red card against Newcastle at St. James’ Park on 11 May.
That didn’t deter the Senegalese international’s spirits as he shared a photo on his Instagram story (1 June) alongside Fernandez, and called the Argentine “hermano”, meaning “brother”.
Chelsea to drop Jackson as Liam Delap transfer edges closer
Football Insider Verdict
Chelsea needed reinforcements up front this summer even before Jackson’s blatant and needless red card at Newcastle, which left them without a recognised number nine for their last two league games.
Maresca’s side may have come away victorious to secure Champions League football, but Chelsea have wasted no time in their hunt for a new striker with Ipswich’s Liam Delap close to a move to Stamford Bridge.
Delap‘s signature gives Maresca the young and physical striker he’s craved this season, and the 22-year-old’s £30million release clause has left Chelsea fans unanimous that they’re getting a low-risk, high-reward transfer.