Nicolas Jackson has gone from Chelsea cast-off to Aston Villa’s main man in a matter of weeks, and his match-winning double against Manchester City has sparked a bold claim: he could be an upgrade on Ollie Watkins.
Nicolas Jackson (Credits: BBC Sport)
Jackson had Villa’s only two shots on target against City on Saturday — and scored them both in a 2-1 win that ended the champions’ perfect start. The brace capped a flying start to his Villa career, with seven goals in his first 11 appearances, including six in his last six games.
Nicolas Jackson Aston Villa Start: Better Than Ollie Watkins?
Signed from Chelsea in the summer in a deal worth up to £65m as a direct replacement for Watkins — Villa’s main source of goals for six seasons — Jackson had to hit the ground running. He has done exactly that, helping Villa to a 100% start in the Champions League and spearheading their recovery after a slow Premier League start.
“The players, the manager, the team — everything is incredible,” Jackson told BBC Match of the Day. “I’m very happy that I’m here and hopefully we can do amazing things together.”
The numbers back up the hype. Jackson scored 24 goals in 65 Premier League appearances for Chelsea, averaging a goal every 210 minutes with a 15% shot conversion rate. At Villa, he has four league goals in seven games so far, averaging a goal every 138 minutes with a 21% conversion rate — and he is outperforming his expected goals tally by exactly two.
Former Villa defender Martin Keown went further on BBC Sport, calling Jackson an upgrade on Watkins, who scored 91 Premier League goals in 221 Villa appearances before moving to Al-Hilal in August. “I’ve liked him all season. I think he’s key to Villa’s success,” Keown said. “Ollie was magnificent for them, but this guy is more of a predator in and around the penalty area. Pace will always trouble top defenders and he’s got it in abundance.”
Keown also pointed to Jackson’s history with Unai Emery, having played under the Villa boss at Villarreal, as a reason for his fast adaptation. Saturday’s win came on the fourth anniversary of Emery’s appointment, under whom Villa have become regulars in Europe and ended a 30-year wait for a major trophy by winning the Europa League.
It is still early, and Watkins’ consistency — double figures in every one of his six Villa league seasons — sets a high bar. But if Jackson keeps converting at this rate, his £65m fee could soon look like a bargain.
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Source: BBC Sport — read the full story there.
