Former Chelsea midfielder John Obi Mikel has reignited his war of words with striker Nicolas Jackson, claiming he isn’t good enough to fire his side to a Premier League title.
Jackson has netted nine times in the league and provided three assists in 19 appearances but recent form has seen him manage just three goals in his last 10 games.
His drop in form has coincided with Chelsea falling away in the title race as they now sit in fourth place and 10 points off leaders Liverpool following a four-game winless run.
Having faced heavy criticism in his debut campaign last season, Jackson’s overall record of 26 goals in 64 games has left many wondering whether he can develop into a leading striker in the league.
While he has shown moments of quality across the season so far, Mikel has often been outspoken on Jackson and the fact that Chelsea could sign a more reputable forward such as Napoli’s Victor Osimhen.
Earlier this season in August, the Senegal striker posted an Instagram story telling him to ‘shut his mouth’ in his response to Mikel’s comments that Chelsea doesn’t have a clinical striker.
And speaking recently on his podcast, Mikel relayed his frustrations once again over his former club and their lack of edge in front of goal, making a similar point.
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‘We are creating chances, we are still playing well, we are still doing the right things but we’re not clinical enough, we’re not scoring goals,’ he said on The Obi One Podcast.
‘We’ve talked about getting another top, top striker who can win us these kind of games, difficult games where if Nicolas Jackson is not firing on all cylinders you can give him a rest and then get someone else to come into the team and try to win us games and score goals.
‘We are not clinical enough, he is not scoring enough goals. He puts himself in the right positions but then he’s not finishing, he’s not scoring enough.
‘He’s not a striker who’s going to get us to the top four or win us the Premier League title. He’s not that striker. I don’t think he can get us over the line in terms of winning trophies. For me, he’s a player who can link up play, he’s good on the ball but he’s not scoring enough goals.
‘If we had Victor Osimhen or the guy from Sporting, Viktor Gyokeres, trust me, we’d still be competing for the Premier League. Nicolas is not scoring enough, the finishing, he needs to find a way. For me it’s a bit of a worry because we’re not scoring enough.
‘Without Cole Palmer I don’t know where we would’ve been this season, definitely not where we are right now, he’s carrying the team on his shoulders, he’s creating chances, scoring goals, what more can he do?
‘One goal in six [from Jackson] is not good enough. You talk about top, top strikers, look at [Alexander] Isak at Newcastle, he’s flying, that’s what we need.’
