Vincent Kompany admits it's a 'luxury' to have Chelsea loanee Nicolas Jackson at Bayern Munich's disposal amid AFCON players claim

The Senegalese striker joined the German champions on a year-long loan deal for a fee of £14.2m on the summer transfer window deadline day. Initially, Bayern fans were not pleased to see Jackson in their club colours as they were sceptical of his abilities, especially after it was revealed that the deal had a €65 million (£57m) obligation for Bayern to buy the player permanently next summer.

However, it has now been revealed that the obligation can only be triggered if the ex-Villareal forward starts in at least 40 matches across all competitions for the Bavarian side. So far, the 24-year-old has featured in 17 matches across all competitions, out of which he has started only six and has clocked 525 minutes on the pitch, scoring five goals. 

While Jackson is not a regular starter under Kompany due to the presence of star attackers like Harry Kane, Luis Diaz and Michael Olise in the club's ranks, the striker has delivered a decent level of performance whenever he has had an opportunity. 

Despite not handing him regular starts, Kompany heaped praise on Jackson as he told reporters: "I have a very positive impression of Nicolas. He’s helped us a lot – his goals-per-minute ratio is good. Of course, with Harry Kane up front, you have a bit of competition, and that’s part of the game. 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. Against Sporting, I was planning to sub him on, but then Lenny scored, and I had a completely different game plan. Hopefully, he’ll continue to capitalise on the chances he gets."

Jackson, like many other African footballers from Europe, will be busy with their national team commitments later this month as AFCON 2025 is all set to kick off on December 21. Jackson has been called up by the Senegal national side and Kompany revealed when the striker will leave for Morocco.

The Belgian coach added: "My understanding is that he will travel after the game against Mainz. We hope he goes as far as possible. Of course, I hope Congo will win the cup, but otherwise I wish him all the best. The importance of this competition for African players shouldn’t be underestimated."

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Jackson is likely to return to Chelsea next season as he still has to start in 34 matches for the obligation in his contract to get triggered. Bayern would roughly play around 30 more matches across all competitions, which means the Blues can't force the German giants to make the purchase. The only way Jackson can stick around at Bayern is if he shows exceptional form in the second half of the season and wins over Kompany and the club management's trust.  As of now, it seems Jackson will head back to Stamford Bridge next summer.

As revealed by Kompany, Jackson's final game for Bayern in 2025 will be against Mainz in the Bundesliga on Sunday. The German champions will then play one more game on December 21 against Heidenheim, before the winter break in Germany kicks in.