Revealed: How Chelsea beat Serie A giants AC Milan to £32m transfer for Nicolas Jackson

The 22-year-old Senegal international caught the eye with La Liga side Villarreal last season – registering 12 goals and five assists. That return brought him to the attention of leading sides across Europe in the summer transfer window.

Serie A giants Milan thought they had won the race for Jackson’s signature, but big-spending Chelsea swooped in as part of their elaborate £1 billion ($1.2bn) spending spree and the highly-rated frontman was off to the Premier League instead.

Jackson’s representative, Diomansy Kamara, has told USCatanzaroCalcioNews.it of how a whirlwind transfer window played out: “He did well at Villarreal and many different offers came in. We were close to signing for Milan, but then Chelsea came along and we went there instead.”

Jackson has taken in six appearances for Chelsea since making his way to Stamford Bridge, with just one goal recorded as the Blues seek to find a spark as a collective following a number of untimely injuries and a return of only five points from as many Premier League games in 2023-24.