Nicolas Jackson has informed Chelsea that he wants to leave the club, with Newcastle United emerging as frontrunners for the Senegal forward. The 24-year-old missed Chelsea's friendly against Bayer Leverkusen on Friday night and trained alone after telling the club he desires a move away from west London.
Jackson has fallen down the pecking order at Stamford Bridge following the arrivals of Liam Delap and João Pedro. Chelsea had valued him at £80 million but are likely to accept a reduced fee of around £65 million as they look to reshape their attacking options by signing Xavi Simons from RB Leipzig and Manchester United's Alejandro Garnacho.
Newcastle are believed to be favourites to sign Jackson, who joined Chelsea from Villarreal in 2023 for £32 million. The Magpies are also keen on Brentford's Yoane Wissa after missing out on Benjamin Sesko, who is set to join Manchester United. Wissa was left out of Brentford's squad for their friendly against Borussia Mönchengladbach on Friday after informing the club he wants to leave, though Newcastle have yet to agree a fee.
Eddie Howe is eager to reinforce his frontline after Callum Wilson left on a free transfer, while Alexander Isak is likely to move to Liverpool if the clubs can agree a fee. Chelsea manager Enzo Maresca acknowledged Jackson's potential departure, saying: 'When the transfer window is open, unfortunately or fortunately, anything can happen. This also involves Nico's situation. At the moment we also had two strikers arrive, João and Liam. So we will see what happens.'
Chelsea have opened talks with Manchester United over Garnacho, having already agreed personal terms with the 21-year-old, but are reluctant to pay his £50 million valuation. They are also hopeful of concluding negotiations with RB Leipzig for Simons, who has agreed personal terms despite interest from Bayern Munich.
