Chelsea are in talks to sell Nicolas Jackson for a fee of around £65 million after manager Xabi Alonso placed the striker in a group of players training away from the first-team squad ahead of the 2026-27 Premier League season. The Blues have more than 40 first-team players listed on their club website, forcing Alonso to split his squad as he prepares for Chelsea’s opener against Fulham on August 24.
Alonso divides squad as Chelsea trim bloated roster
According to the club, the group training separately should not be considered a ‘bomb squad,’ but they do not feature in Alonso’s long-term plans. Fellow striker Liam Delap and returning winger Mykhailo Mudryk are also in the second training group at Cobham. Chelsea signed Jackson from Villarreal in a £32 million deal in 2023, and he impressed in his first season at Stamford Bridge, scoring 17 goals in all competitions. He also reached double digits during the 2024-25 campaign before being loaned to Bayern Munich following the arrivals of Joao Pedro from Brighton and Delap from Ipswich Town.
Jackson’s Bayern loan ends; permanent move fails
The Senegal international had hoped to secure a permanent move to Bayern, but the necessary conditions were not met, and the Bundesliga champions opted not to negotiate a new deal with Chelsea. Upon his return to west London, Chelsea bosses immediately made clear they were open to offloading him again. Premier League clubs Aston Villa and Tottenham have made approaches for the 25-year-old, but Chelsea are currently discussing a deal with Napoli, according to Sky Italia. Napoli are keen to strengthen Massimiliano Allegri’s attacking options and also admire Arsenal’s Gabriel Jesus and Manchester United’s Joshua Zirkzee, though their focus for now appears to be on Jackson. Reports in Italy claim talks have begun over a deal for the Chelsea forward.
Villa and Tottenham show interest; United advised to move
Aston Villa have expressed interest in Jackson amid speculation that England striker Ollie Watkins could leave the Midlands club for a lucrative move to Saudi Arabia. With Chelsea open to selling Jackson for around £65 million, Manchester United have even been advised to consider a late summer window move. ‘Nicolas Jackson is an option for Manchester United,’ former Premier League title winner Quinton Fortune said earlier this month. ‘He’s coming off his loan at Bayern Munich and keeps getting clubs so he must have something. I see him as more of a goal poacher. If you look at the purest of the pure footballers, he’s not a striker to bring it down and play it like Dimitar Berbatov or Wayne Rooney or Dwight Yorke but that’s what I like about him too. He’s just an out-an-out striker. He doesn’t really care about anything else apart from getting into the box and getting on the end of whatever service he’s provided, and there’s nothing wrong with that. That’s still the hardest part of the game. He’s almost like Erling Haaland at times and he shouldn’t get involved in the play so much. Tell the other guys they can do all the hard work and I’ll score the goals. Whether he’s right for United, I don’t know about that, but you don’t play for Chelsea and Bayern Munich if you haven’t got something about you.’
Chelsea begin Premier League campaign at Fulham
Chelsea kick off their 2026-27 campaign with a trip to west London rivals Fulham on Monday night. ‘We feel ready,’ Alonso said at his first Chelsea pre-match press conference on Thursday afternoon. ‘We have prepared the whole pre-season with some players from the first day, other ones coming later. But the desire, the ambition, the hunger to start the Premier League is already in the building each training [session] and we’re looking forward to it.’
