Why Aston Villa will struggle to complete Nicolas Jackson transfer despite Unai Emery's interest in reunion with unwanted Chelsea striker

Villa boss Unai Emery remains hopeful of adding attacking options this summer, but will have to create a payment package to work around the limitations. This would be constructed by splitting the fee to be paid over an as yet undecided number of seasons. Emery, who has previously worked with Jackson during their time at Villarreal, faces competition from Newcastle and clubs in Italy, according to The Telegraph.

Jackson was the second top-scorer for Chelsea last season, but now faces stiff competition for his place from new signings Liam Delap and Joao Pedro. Villa have seen Jacob Ramsey and Leon Bailey leave this summer, but that still doesn’t free up enough cash for them to spend big on Jackson. The one piece of good news for Emery is the wages. Jackson is on £100,000 per week, which would sit within Villa's wage structure.

Last year, Emery said of Jackson: “He was starting the pre-season with the Under 21s and when he was progressively coming to train with us, he was showing his potential. We worked during the one year on his skill, he improved his understanding better, how he could exploit his potential. And playing minutes and getting experiences was the next step.But his attitude as well was fantastic. He was always learning. He was always demanding to train more, to be focused. He was also being a professional every day out of training sessions at home because he was focused on football like the first priority of his life."

It’s decision time for Jackson. He has plenty of admirers, but Chelsea are reluctant to let him go out on loan, so Villa may win the race. And with the World Cup on the horizon, he’ll be keen to have his future wrapped up ASAP.