‘Stupidity’ – Bayern Munich chief clarifies Nicolas Jackson stance after Chelsea loanee’s camp fire back
Bayern Munich director Uli Hoeness has made his stance clear on Nicolas Jackson’s playing time after his comments around the structure of his Chelsea loan deal caused controversy.
Nicolas Jackson’s future at Stamford Bridge was a huge topic of conversation throughout the summer after his poor performances at the Club World Cup, as scout Mick Brown told Football Insider that Chelsea were ready to accept offers for Jackson ahead of the new season.
Football Insider revealed before of the transfer deadline that Bayern Munich had opened talks to sign Jackson on loan, but Chelsea tried to cancel Jackson’s move to Bayern late on following Liam Delap’s hamstring injury against Fulham.
He did eventually seal the switch to the German giants on an initial season-long loan with an obligation to make it permanent next summer should certain conditions be met in a deal that may total £70million [Sky Sports], and is now set to compete with Harry Kane for places up-front in Vincent Kompany’s side.
His potential lack of game-time behind the Englishman could scupper his chances of staying at the Allianz Arena after Bayern chief Uli Hoeness joked that Jackson would not start 40 games to sign permanently, but he has now moved to clarify his comments after the Senegalese international’s agent had his say.
Uli Hoeness blames ‘stupidity’ for Nicolas Jackson comments
Bayern Munich executive director Hoeness revealed in an interview last weekend that Jackson has to start 40 games for Bayern this season to be automatically signed permanently at the end of the campaign, but joked that “he’ll never do that,” which many interpreted as a slight against the Chelsea loanee.
Jackson’s agent, Diomansy Kamara, took to Instagram on Sunday to indirectly fire back at his comments, saying: “Many speak, but few tell the truth. That’s not the topic today. Our only priority is Senegal’s decisive match for World Cup qualification,” with the striker currently on international duty.
Hoeness was made to explain his comments in an interview with Sky Sport Germany (via @iMiaSanMia on X) on Wednesday (10 September), saying: “Everything I said was meant to help him [Jackson]. What annoyed me a lot is the stupidity of some journalists. They interpreted my words as if I had something against Jackson.
“I said he won’t play 40 games from the start. We still have 32 Bundesliga games. If we reach the Champions League final, which we hope we will, that adds 13 games. The total is 45 games. The DFB Pokal games do not count.
“So he would have to start all these games. He will go to the African Cup of Nations in January, so he can’t start 40 games, that’s what I said. What I wanted was to help Max [Eberl, Bayern’s technical director], because he was accused of granting this option [obligation to buy].“
Nicolas Jackson’s role with Bayern Munich in question
The Bayern chief is probably right in what he says, as Jackson is unlikely to get to start 40 games in one season with a star striker like Kane ahead of him in the pecking order.
That’s not to say that he was correct in disclosing this kind of information, as neither club clearly wanted it out in the public domain, and the fact he joked about a new signing’s minutes is a bad look in itself.
| Appearances | Goals | Assists |
| 81 | 30 | 12 |
Jackson is clearly a good striker who knows where the net is, and his playing style of running off the shoulder and into channels is likely to suit German football massively, so it is not completely off the table that he gets 40 starts, especially considering the amount of games that Kompany’s side are likely to play.
Kane’s fitness is obviously set to play a big part in whether the Senegal international does see his deal become permanent, but if he does stay fit and keeps firing in front of goal, then Hoeness will likely be right in what he said, and the issue is more that he simply didn’t need to say it for everyone to know.