Chelsea boss Mauricio Pochettino draws comparison with Real Madrid star Vinicius Jr as he calls for patience with struggling striker Nicolas Jackson

Nicolas Jackson Vinicius Jr. Getty Images/GOAL
  • Pochettino compared Jackson with Vinicius Jr.
  • Jackson has scored just once in five matches
  • Pochettino demanded patience with Jackson

WHAT HAPPENED? The Chelsea manager revealed that he had a chat with the underfire Chelsea forward and advised him to be more calm on the pitch and in front of the goal. He also drew comparison with Real Madrid Vinicius Jr, who took at least two seasons to settle in at Los Blancos, in order to motivate the young striker.

WHAT THEY SAID: Speaking to reporters on Jackson's poor run of form, Pochettino said, "I had a meeting today (Friday) with Nicolas and Enzo (Fernandez). I said ‘Come on, a striker with four yellow cards for protesting?’ You need to get yellow cards but in different actions, not for that. Not so easy, so cheap. It’s going to put him in a very difficult situation with the team.

"He understood. But Jackson is 22, he’s young. He needs to learn, needs to improve, needs to settle. He’s going to be a fantastic player. But he needs time. I like to make similarities with players at other clubs. Jackson is a fantastic player but he needs to be calm and relaxed in front of goal. I said remember Vinicius, he took three seasons, or two and a half seasons, to perform (at Real)."

Article continues below

He added, "We’re talking about young players. You can blame us, blame me. We can talk about tactics. But they need time. There’s no doubt we have amazing talent on the team, but now they need time to settle. But he needs to be clever not to protest to the referees in this way. Maybe it’s his normal behaviour on the pitch, it’s something maybe he can improve. Maybe this season they change the rules, he came from Spain where it’s different the relationship with the referees."

THE BIGGER PICTURE: Since moving to Chelsea this summer from Villarreal in a £32million deal, Jackson has managed to score just once in five Premier League appearances. His only goal this season came against newly promoted Luton Town last month.

IN TWO PHOTOS:

Mauricio Pochettino Chelsea 2023-24Getty

Nicolas Jackson Chelsea 2023-24Getty

WHAT NEXT? The 22-year-old is likely to start for Chelsea on Sunday as the Blues take on Aston Villa in the Premier League.