Nicolas Jackson set for Chelsea return as Bayern Munich refuse to trigger buy clause in loan deal

According to The Times, Jackson is expected to head back to Chelsea in June because he has not reached the number of games required for Bayern to trigger the obligation-to-buy clause, and the Bundesliga leaders are "unlikely" to pursue a separate permanent transfer agreement.

The 24-year-old needs to rack up 40 appearances and play at least 45 minutes in each of them, but only has 22 games under his belt for Bayern so far, hitting the minutes target in just seven of them. Jackson's club season was also interrupted by the Africa Cup of Nations, as he played five games during Senegal's run to the title.

Bayern paid a loan fee of £14m ($19m) for Jackson, and would have to pay an extra £56m ($76m) if he reached his minutes target, but that now seems to be out of the question. The striker was also on the radar of clubs in Spain and Italy last summer, but Chelsea are not ruling out the prospect of keeping him, with Liam Rosenior having replaced Enzo Maresca as head coach at Stamford Bridge.

Jackson has, however, only scored five goals for Bayern to date and doubts remain over whether he can deliver consistently at the highest level. 

Despite his struggles in Germany, Kompany has insisted that Jackson has made a positive impact. "He’s helped us a lot. Of course, with Harry Kane up front, you have a bit of competition, and that’s part of the game," the Bayern boss said in December. "So, as a coach, it’s a real luxury to see how Nicolas is handling that. What many people don’t see is what Nicolas does in training and every time he comes on. Hopefully, he’ll continue to capitalise on the chances he gets."

Jackson has, though, remained firmly in Kane's shadow since returning from AFCON duty. The Chelsea loanee has only featured in 37 minutes across Bayern's last four Bundesliga games, with his last goal for the club coming back in November. It remains to be seen if he will see any game time when Bayern host Eintracht Frankfurt on Saturday, with Kompany's side currently sitting six points clear of Borussia Dortmund at the top of the Bundesliga table.