Chelsea have now made a new attacker their “top priority” in 2025 as they look to provide Enzo Maresca with the final piece of his attacking puzzle at Stamford Bridge.
Nicolas Jackson going from laughing stock to lethal
In the 2023/24 Premier League season, Nicolas Jackson scored 14 goals, but developed a reputation for missing easy chances in his debut campaign for Chelsea.
In fact, only three players underperformed their expected goals by a bigger margin, and Chelsea spent much of the summer looking for a new no.9 to at least provide competition for the Senegal international, if not start ahead of him.
Biggest expected goals underperformance 2023/24
Player
Club
Goals
Expected goals
xG underperformance
Dominic Calvert-Lewin
Everton
7
12.93
5.93
Brennan Johnson
Tottenham
5
10.61
5.61
Darwin Nunez
Liverpool
11
16.39
5.39
Nicolas Jackson
Chelsea
14
18.64
4.64
Luis Diaz
Liverpool
8
11.88
3.88
This season, however, he has taken his game to another level under Maresca. His goal against Newcastle was his sixth of the season, from an expected goals of exactly six, and demonstrated that he has made the step from future star to main man in Chelsea’s attack.
He has been rewarded with a new contract, which runs until 2031, and seems likely to lead the Chelsea line for some time to come. As a result, Chelsea’s priorities have shifted somewhat, away from a traditional no.9.
Chelsea target "devastating" forward
Now, it has been claimed that Chelsea are now eyeing a more versatile option in attack, and have made Borussia Dortmund ace Karim Adeyemi their “top priority” for 2025. The German international is still a raw talent, but has shown clear glimpses of his talent, most recently by netting a hat-trick against Celtic in the Champions League, while he also scored against Chelsea on the same stage in 2023 with a superb solo effort.
He has been described as having the potential to become “a devastating outlet” by football analyst Ben Mattinson on X, and Chelsea would like to be the club to harness that potential.
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That is according to French outlet Jeunes Footeux [via TEAMtalk], who claim that the Blues have made the German their ‘top priority’ for next summer amid reported interest from French Champions PSG too.
The 22-year-old would not come cheap, with the winger still having three years left to run on his £96,000 a week deal in Dortmund, but he would add some excellent versatility to Maresca’s attack, with Adeyemi able to play on either flank or even as a central striker alongside Jackson.
His raw pace would add yet another dimension to Chelsea’s attack, who currently only have the injury-prone Pedro Neto as a natural speedster in attack, and that could complement Jackson’s hold up skills and Palmer’s passing range excellently.
It is added that “Dortmund will look to reject any winter approaches for their player as they would rather keep him for the full campaign before selling next summer”, as they anticipate a bidding war for his services. Could Chelsea bring him to Stamford Bridge?