Nicolas Jackson is believed to have attracted the interest of an array of international clubs, according to reports in Germany. The Chelsea striker is currently in the late stages of his season-long loan to Bayern Munich, after the Blues' recruitment of Liam Delap and Joao Pedro during last summer's transfer window signalled that Jackson had fallen out of favour.
The Senegal star promptly made the loan move to the Bundesliga, but will not be extending his stay under Vincent Kompany after failing to play the requisite number of games to trigger the club's £56.2 million obligation to buy. Instead, Chelsea are likely to mull the possibility of another move away, with Bild reporting that among the options for a potential destination are Serie A sides including Juventus and AC Milan.
The German publication has also suggested that Turkish Super Lig giants Fenerbahce and Saudi Pro League side Al-Ahli are interested in securing the forward on loan. Jackson has distinguished himself in Munich as understudy to Harry Kane, but the latter's titanic form has seen the 24-year-old used sparingly.
Nonetheless, Jackson has scored 10 times for his temporary club, and Vincent Kompany is thought to be happy with his squad player, although he is unable to keep hold of him due to Chelsea's high asking price. But he was some way off the necessary 40 games played for over 45 minutes or more, with Bayern sporting director Max Eberl confirming that Jackson wouldn't be staying at the end of last month.
'We have players like Nicolas Jackson where we don't need to exercise the option because he's not playing enough games,' Eberl said. 'And it looks like we won't be exercising the option.' In response, Jackson's agent Diomansy Kamara shared a post on social media detailing his player's strong season, which includes a Bundesliga title and a disputed AFCON win with his home nation. 'The future… who can predict it?' Kamara added. 'Trust the process, anything is possible.'
Jackson will return to Chelsea ahead of the start of next season, but find a somewhat different landscape to the club he left. Out in the cold under former head coach Enzo Maresca, Jackson missed the short-lived reign of Liam Rosenior in the dugout, and that of the current interim manager Calum McFarlane. With Chelsea's permanent head coach yet to be chosen by the club's BlueCo hierarchy, Jackson could yet find himself back in favour at Stamford Bridge, having equalled first-team striker Pedro's league record in front of goal this term. Jackson has certainly proved more consistent in front of goal than the Blues' other summer purchase Delap, with the former Ipswich Town star netting just once in the Premier League this season.
