Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink insists Chelsea striker Nicolas Jackson has the potential to be better than Man City superstar Erling Haaland.
The Blues bought Jackson from Villarreal in a deal worth a reported £32m in June 2023 as Chelsea looked for a goalscorer to lead them into a new era under Todd Boehly and Behdad Eghbali.
Jackson’s scoring record during his first season in the Premier League was solid with the Senegal international scoring 14 goals in 35 appearances.
However, some of Jackson’s finishing and general all-round play was criticised but the Chelsea striker has made a flying start to the new campaign with four goals in five Premier League matches.
And Hasselbaink – who scored 87 goals for Chelsea in the Premier League during his time at Stamford Bridge – reckons Jackson is “coming along nicely in his development as a top, top striker.”
Hasselbaink told Genting Casino: “I like Nicolas Jackson a lot. Not just because he’s playing at Chelsea, but because he causes defenders so much trouble.
“He scored fourteen goals in the Premier League last season. That’s not a bad return in your first season in the Premier League. A lot of the goals he scored were in 3-0, 4-0 games, sot the challenge to him is to score goals when your team really needs you – be the difference-maker – and that is what he is starting to do this season.
“That is when a striker really earns his money, the games where the pressure is on your shoulders to win your team the game. I want to see if he can handle that pressure every week.
“He’s progressing really well. I think he’s coming along nicely in his development as a top, top striker.”
Man City striker Haaland has scored ten goals in just five Premier League matches so far this season and 100 goals in 105 appearances for the Citizens in all competitions since 2022.
And Hasselbaink reckons Jackson can reach Haaland’s heights and even surpass him as the greatest striker in the world.
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The Chelsea legend added: “Nicolas Jackson and Erling Haaland are similar ages (23 and 24 respectively). The major difference is, Haaland has a lot more top-level experience in terms of Champions League football. He’s been playing at that level since he burst onto the scene playing for Salzburg and has stayed there. Jackson hasn’t done that.
“That is what Jackson needs to do to be considered one of the best strikers in the world. He needs to be decisive on the pitch and he needs to score goals regularly at the highest level in the game. It’s a big challenge for him, but he has the potential to get there.
“If Jackson fulfils his potential, he will be a £150 million player. I’m convinced of that.
“He’s a player that has the potential to be able to do everything. He can play outside the box. He can play with the ball at his feet, those are things that Erling Haaland can’t really do.
“The only thing that Jackson needs to understand is, when he gets involved in the build-up, that game outside the box, sometimes he can try and do too many things. He doesn’t have to do that.
“Sometimes the best way to get in behind is a simple one-two, a give and go. That was the type of goal he scored first against West Ham; take the ball, play it back to the midfielder and go into the space. When the midfielder can find him, he’s in one-against-one with the goalkeeper. Jackson has the potential to become one of the best strikers in the world.”
