The most tantalising fixture on matchday one of the new Champions League season comes from the Allianz Arena, where kings of Germany Bayern Munich play host to Club World Cup winners Chelsea. These two teams have history – this will be the Blues' first trip back to Bavaria since lifting their first European Cup there in 2012 – but there is an extremely contemporary entity now linking them.
At the back end of the summer transfer window just gone, Bayern were desperately scouring Europe for a versatile attacker to strengthen their forward line. They had swung and missed on Nick Woltemade, who was signed by Newcastle after giving in to Stuttgart's hefty demands.
The search for an alternative led them to Nicolas Jackson, who had been thrust into Chelsea's 'bomb squad' over the summer. This was despite him performing admirably over his two seasons in the first team and emerging as one of their most reliable sources of goals.
At the end of an on-again off-again saga, Jackson signed for Bayern on an initial loan with conditions to make the move permanent later down the line. Though he is still technically an employee of Chelsea, he is eligible to face his parent side on Wednesday due to UEFA rules – a wrinkle that has been to the detriment of the west Londoners before.
Jackson may not publicly be out for revenge and is said to be grateful that he had the opportunity to represent a club of such stature, but he nevertheless has the chance to stick two fingers up at the regime who sent him packing at the first sign of trouble.
AFPNew striker in a new project
The rise of Jackson as one of the world's best young striking prospects took a couple of twists and turns along the way. After struggling to nail down a place in the Villarreal lineup, he agreed to join Bournemouth in January 2023. However, he was carrying an injury at the time and complications arose in the medical, with the Cherries deciding to pull the plug on a £22.5 million (€26m) deal.
That seemed to light a fire under Jackson, who ended the 2022-23 season on a run of nine goals in his final eight La Liga games to secure Europa League qualification for the Yellow Submarine. This form also attracted more lucrative suitors in Chelsea, who stumped up £32m (€37m) to acquire his services. Notably, the club's statement confirming his arrival did not quote either the player or head coach, Mauricio Pochettino, but instead co-sporting directors Paul Winstanley and Laurence Stewart.
"We are excited to welcome Nicolas to Chelsea," the statement read. "He is a young player with big potential, as he showcased for Villarreal last season. We believe he is ready for this next step in his career and look forward to him working with our new head coach, Mauricio Pochettino, and his Chelsea team-mates."
After the calamity of a 2022-23 campaign which saw Chelsea bring in several ageing stars and an assortment of rough-diamond youngsters, this was one of the first signs of pivoting to a new strategy focused on buying prospects with a bit more experience. The summer 2023 window also saw them bring in the likes of Cole Palmer, Moises Caicedo, Romeo Lavia and Robert Sanchez, but Jackson's only direct competitor for the centre-forward spot was Armando Broja. In short, the position was his to lose.
AdvertisementGetty Images SportDissent always an issue
What became apparent quite early on in Jackson's Chelsea career was he simply couldn't stay out of trouble. Through his first six Premier League matches, he accumulated the five yellow cards needed to trigger a one-game suspension. To make matters worse, the four of those bookings were for dissent, and the clincher for the ban came when he stood too close to an opposition's quick free-kick.
Pochettino, whose job at Stamford Bridge seemed doomed from the off due to his allegiances to rivals Tottenham, spoke to Jackson as early as September 2023 to try and improve his discipline.
"For a striker to pick up four yellow cards from talking to the officials, it shouldn't happen. It would be OK for different actions but not for that," the Argentine said at the time. "He is young and he needs to improve, he will be a fantastic player but he needs time.
"He needs to be calm and relaxed in front of goal and it will arrive. He needs to be clever to not protest to the referees. Maybe it's his normal behavior on the pitch or maybe it's because the rules changed this season. He has come from Spain and here it is more sensitive this season."
Jackson ended his first season in England with 10 yellow cards, though his final caution came after the cut-off point to receive a second suspension. His second campaign saw him pick up seven bookings, but also his first sending-off.
AFPGoals couldn't save reputation
The public perception around Jackson is that he's a striker who needs too many chances in order to score, while he has also been harshly ridiculed for some of the shots he's missed. He was a comparable figure to ex-Liverpool forward Darwin Nunez, who similarly found himself in fantastic goal-scoring opportunities but regularly wasted them.
Debates over Jackson's level became something of a culture war among Chelsea supporters. On the one hand, he's ended his last three seasons with double digits of goals without taking penalties.
However, he's been the victim of 'another striker would have scored twice as many' discourse due to his wastefulness and a drought which spanned 12 games at the end of 2024-25, finding the net nine times through the first half of the campaign though only once thereafter.
It's worth noting, though, that only Palmer (43) has scored more goals for the Blues than Jackson (30) since he made the switch from Villarreal two years ago. He was a crucial part of a young team which could have crumbled under the pressure bestowed upon them by the club's big-spending owners, yet he lived up to expectation and won two trophies.
Getty Images SportLast straw for Maresca
Jackson was on thin ice at Chelsea heading out of their 2024-25 domestic season. A red card for a reckless challenge early on in their 2-0 defeat to top-five rivals Newcastle almost cost them a place in the Champions League. Fortunately, his team-mates rallied in his absence and won their final two games of the Premier League campaign to finish fourth.
The Blues were in the market for at least one more striker. They signed Liam Delap from Ipswich in time for the Club World Cup, while Joao Pedro joined up with his new side for the knockout rounds.
To begin the group stage, Jackson retained his spot up top, before being dropped to the bench for their fateful second match, a 3-1 defeat to Flamengo. Only four minutes after being introduced as a substitute, the Senegal international saw red again and was given his marching orders. Save for a 30-minute cameo against Fluminense in the semi-finals, that was the last time he would ever wear a Chelsea shirt.
When Chelsea ramped up preparations for the 2025-26 season, head coach Enzo Maresca confirmed he was planning for life without Jackson. "He is training with us [the first-team squad], but he is not going to be involved. You know the situation already. The window transfer is open. He can leave, and we'll see," the Italian said in August.
