Nicolas Jackson (born 20 June 2001) is a Senegalese professional

footballer A football player or footballer is a sportsperson who plays one of the different types of football. The main types of football are association football, American football, Canadian football, Australian rules football, Gaelic football, rugby le ...

who plays as a

striker Striker or The Strikers may refer to: People *A participant in a strike action *A participant in a hunger strike *Blacksmith's striker, a type of blacksmith's assistant *Striker's Independent Society, the oldest mystic krewe in America People wi ...

for club Chelsea and the Senegal national team.

Early life

Nicolas Jackson was born in Senegal, in 2001, to a Gambian father and

Senegalese Senegal,; Wolof: ''Senegaal''; Pulaar: 𞤅𞤫𞤲𞤫𞤺𞤢𞥄𞤤𞤭 (Senegaali); Arabic: السنغال ''As-Sinighal'') officially the Republic of Senegal,; Wolof: ''Réewum Senegaal''; Pulaar : 𞤈𞤫𞤲𞤣𞤢𞥄𞤲𞤣𞤭 ...

mother. In 2017, in the aftermath of the

2016 Gambian presidential election Presidential elections were held in The Gambia on 1 December 2016. In a surprise result, opposition candidate Adama Barrow defeated long-term incumbent Yahya Jammeh. The election marked the first change of presidency in The Gambia since a milita ...

, the family moved to

Ziguinchor Ziguinchor (; wo, Siggcoor ; ar, زيغينكور) is the capital of the Ziguinchor Region, and the chief town of the Casamance area of Senegal, lying at the mouth of the Casamance River. It has a population of over 230,000 (2007 estimate). It ...

, Senegal.

Club career

Early career

Jackson began playing for local side ASC Tilene before joining Casa Sports, where he was a part of the first team squad during the 2018–19 season. He was also named

man of the match In team sport, a player of the match or man of the match or woman of the match award is often given to the most outstanding player in a particular match. This can be a player from either team, although the player is generally chosen from the winn ...

in a 1–1

Ligue 1 Ligue 1, officially known as Ligue 1 Uber Eats for sponsorship reasons, is a French professional league for men's association football clubs. At the top of the French football league system, it is the country's primary football competition. A ...

draw against

AS Pikine Association Sportive de Pikine or simply AS Pikine is a Senegalese football club based in Pikine. They play at Stade Alassane Djigo, which has a capacity of 5,000. History The earlier club was established in 1921 and was called Niayes-Pikine. T ...

on 16 November 2018.

Villarreal

In September 2019, Jackson agreed to a contract with

La Liga The Campeonato Nacional de Liga de Primera División, commonly known simply as Primera División in Spain, and as La Liga in English-speaking countries and officially as LaLiga Santander for sponsorship reasons, stylized as LaLiga, is the men's ...

side Villarreal, being assigned to the ''Juvenil A'' squad.

Loan to Mirandés

On 5 October 2020, Jackson was loaned to

Segunda División The Campeonato Nacional de Liga de Segunda División, commercially known as LaLiga SmartBank for sponsorship reasons, is the men's second professional association football division of the Spanish football league system. Administrated by the Lig ...

side Mirandés for the 2020–21 season. He made his professional debut thirteen days later, coming on as a second-half substitute for Antonio Caballero in a 0–0 home draw against

Mallorca Mallorca, or Majorca, is the largest island in the Balearic Islands, which are part of Spain and located in the Mediterranean. The capital of the island, Palma, is also the capital of the autonomous community of the Balearic Islands. The Bal ...

. Jackson scored his first professional goal on 28 November 2020, netting the opener in a 1–1 home draw against CD Castellón. It was his only goal of the season as the ''Jabatos'' finished in 10th place.

Breakthrough

Upon returning, Jackson played for Villarreal's B-team in Primera División RFEF, scoring seven goals as the side achieved promotion to the second division. He made his first team – and

– debut on 3 October 2021, replacing

Arnaut Danjuma Arnaut Danjuma Groeneveld (born 31 January 1997) is a professional footballer who plays as a winger for La Liga club Villarreal and the Netherlands national team. After making one substitute appearance for Jong PSV in the Eerste Divisie, he p ...

late into a 2–0 home win over

Real Betis Real Betis Balompié, known as Real Betis () or just Betis, is a Spanish professional football club based in Seville in the autonomous community of Andalusia. Founded in 1907, it plays in La Liga. It holds home games at the Estadio Benito Vill ...

. Jackson scored his first goal in the top tier on 13 August 2022, netting the opener in a 3–0 away win over

Real Valladolid Real Valladolid Club de Fútbol, S.A.D., or simply Real Valladolid () or Valladolid, is a professional football club based in Valladolid, Castile and León, Spain that competes in La Liga, the top tier of the Spanish league system. The club colo ...

. Thirteen days later, he and teammate Álex Baena were promoted to the main squad. In January 2023, Villarreal agreed a £22.5 million deal from

AFC Bournemouth AFC Bournemouth () is a professional association football club based in Kings Park, Boscombe, a suburb of Bournemouth, Dorset, England. The club competes in the Premier League, the highest division of English club football. Formed in 1899 as B ...

for the signing of Jackson but he failed his medical due to hamstring issues. After returning to action in March, he scored nine goals within the months of April and May, which included braces against

Celta de Vigo Real Club Celta de Vigo (; ), commonly known as Celta de Vigo or simply Celta, is a Spanish professional football club based in Vigo, Galicia, that competes in La Liga, the top tier of Spanish football. Nicknamed ''Os Celestes'' (The Sky Blues ...

Athletic Bilbao Athletic Club ( eu, Bilboko Athletic Kluba; es, Athletic Club de Bilbao), commonly known as Athletic Bilbao or just Athletic, is a professional Association football, football club based in the city of Bilbao in the Basque Country (autonomous com ...

and

Cádiz Cádiz (, , ) is a city and port in southwestern Spain. It is the capital of the Province of Cádiz, one of eight that make up the autonomous community of Andalusia. Cádiz, one of the oldest continuously inhabited cities in Western Europe, ...

Chelsea

On 30 June 2023, Jackson signed for

Premier League The Premier League (legal name: The Football Association Premier League Limited) is the highest level of the men's English football league system. Contested by 20 clubs, it operates on a system of promotion and relegation with the English Foo ...

club Chelsea on an eight-year deal through 2031 for a fee reported to be £32 million. On 13 August, he made his debut for the club in a 1–1 draw against

Liverpool Liverpool is a city and metropolitan borough in Merseyside, England. With a population of in 2019, it is the 10th largest English district by population and its metropolitan area is the fifth largest in the United Kingdom, with a popul ...

in the Premier League. Jackson scored his first Chelsea goal on 25 August 2023 against newly promoted side Luton Town, helping Chelsea to a 3–0 win at

Stamford Bridge Stamford Bridge may refer to: * Stamford Bridge, East Riding of Yorkshire, a village in England ** Battle of Stamford Bridge, 25 September 1066 * Stamford Bridge (bridge), a bridge in the village of Stamford Bridge * Stamford Bridge (stadium), in L ...

. He scored his second Chelsea goal in a 1–0 win over Brighton & Hove Albion in the

EFL Cup The EFL Cup (referred to historically, and colloquially, as the League Cup), currently known as the Carabao Cup for sponsorship reasons, is an annual knockout competition and major trophy in men's domestic football in England. Organised by the ...

. On 6 November, Jackson scored twice in second-half stoppage time to complete a

hat-trick A hat-trick or hat trick is the achievement of a generally positive feat three times in a match, or another achievement based on the number three. Origin The term first appeared in 1858 in cricket, to describe H. H. Stephenson taking three wic ...

in a 4–1 away win over

Tottenham Hotspur Tottenham Hotspur Football Club, commonly referred to as Tottenham () or Spurs, is a professional association football, football club based in Tottenham, London, England. It competes in the Premier League, the top flight of English footba ...

. He scored again in the next match against

Manchester City Manchester () is a city in Greater Manchester, England. It had a population of 552,000 in 2021. It is bordered by the Cheshire Plain to the south, the Pennines to the north and east, and the neighbouring city of Salford to the west. The tw ...

, which ended in a 4–4 home draw. On 15 April 2024, Jackson scored his tenth Premier League goal of the season as well as providing an assist for

Cole Palmer Cole Jermaine Palmer (born 6 May 2002) is an English professional footballer who plays as a midfielder or forward for club Manchester City. He has represented England at youth level. Club career Born in Wythenshawe, Palmer was a boyhood fan wh ...

in a 6–0 win over Everton. As Palmer had already reached double digits in league goals, this became the first Chelsea season since 2017–18 in which two players had scored ten or more Premier League goals in a season. On 5 May 2024, Jackson scored his first brace for Chelsea as well as providing an assist for

in a 5-0 home win over

West Ham West Ham is an area in East London, located east of Charing Cross in the west of the modern London Borough of Newham. The area, which lies immediately to the north of the River Thames and east of the River Lea, was originally an ancien ...

. Despite the heavy criticisms he faced in his first season in Chelsea, Jackson managed to score 14 Premier League goals in 35 appearances to make him the second highest African goal scorer in the 2023–24 season only behind

Mohamed Salah Mohamed Salah Hamed Mahrous Ghaly ( ar, محمد صلاح حامد محروس غالي, ; born 15 June 1992), also known as Mo Salah, is an Egyptian professional footballer who plays as a forward for club Liverpool and captains the Egypt na ...

International career

Jackson represented

Senegal Senegal,; Wolof: ''Senegaal''; Pulaar: 𞤅𞤫𞤲𞤫𞤺𞤢𞥄𞤤𞤭 (Senegaali); Arabic: السنغال ''As-Sinighal'') officially the Republic of Senegal,; Wolof: ''Réewum Senegaal''; Pulaar : 𞤈𞤫𞤲𞤣𞤢𞥄𞤲𞤣𞤭 � ...

at under-20 level, receiving his first call-up in November 2018. After being called up to the full side by manager

Aliou Cissé Aliou Cissé (born 24 March 1976) is a Senegalese Association football, football coach and former player who is the manager of the Senegal national football team, Senegal national team. Cissé is best known for captaining the Senegal team which ...

for two friendlies in September 2022, Jackson was included in the 26-man list for the

2022 FIFA World Cup The 2022 FIFA World Cup is an international association football, football tournament contested by the men's national teams of FIFA's member associations. The 22nd FIFA World Cup is taking place in Qatar from 20 November to 18 December 2022 ...

on 11 November 2022. He made his full international debut in Senegal's opening match of the competition, replacing

Krépin Diatta Krépin Diatta (born 25 February 1999) is a Senegalese professional footballer who plays as a winger for Ligue 1 club Monaco and the Senegal national team. Club career Sarpsborg 08 On 26 February 2017, Diatta signed a four-year contract wit ...

in a 2–0 loss against the

Netherlands ) , anthem = ( en, "William of Nassau") , image_map = , map_caption = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = Kingdom of the Netherlands , established_title = Before independence , established_date = Spanish Netherl ...

. In December 2023, Jackson was named in Senegal's squad for the postponed

2023 Africa Cup of Nations The 2023 Africa Cup of Nations (also referred to as AFCON 2023 or CAN 2023) is scheduled to be the 34th edition of the Africa Cup of Nations, the biennial international men's association football, football championship of Africa organized by the ...

held in the

Ivory Coast Ivory Coast, also known as Côte d'Ivoire, officially the Republic of Côte d'Ivoire, is a country on the southern coast of West Africa. Its capital is Yamoussoukro, in the centre of the country, while its largest city and economic centre is ...

Career statistics

Club

International

Honours

Chelsea *

runner-up: 2023–24 Individual *

La Liga Player of the Month The Player of the Month is an association football award that recognises the best La Liga The Campeonato Nacional de Liga de Primera División, commonly known simply as Primera División in Spain, and as La Liga in English-speaking countrie ...

: May 2023

References

External links

Profile
at the Chelsea F.C. website * {{DEFAULTSORT:Jackson, Nicolas 2001 births Living people Sportspeople from Banjul Senegalese men's footballers Gambian men's footballers Gambian emigrants to Senegal Senegalese people of Gambian descent Men's association football forwards Ligue 1 (Senegal) players Casa Sports players La Liga players Segunda División players Primera Federación players Premier League players Villarreal CF B players CD Mirandés footballers Villarreal CF players Chelsea F.C. players Senegal men's youth international footballers Senegal men's international footballers 2022 FIFA World Cup players 2023 Africa Cup of Nations players Senegalese expatriate men's footballers Senegalese expatriate sportspeople in Spain Senegalese expatriate sportspeople in England Gambian expatriate men's footballers Gambian expatriate sportspeople in Spain Gambian expatriate sportspeople in England Expatriate men's footballers in Spain Expatriate men's footballers in England