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Chelsea have reportedly slapped a £100 million price tag on Nicolas Jackson amid interest from AC Milan. The Blues have no plans to sell their star player despite the addition of João Pedro and Liam Delap.
According to a report in the Daily Mail, Enzo Maresca intends to retain Jackson in his squad for the upcoming season and has not sanctioned the transfer. He is keen on working with the striker, who scored 10 goals and assisted 5 times in the Premier League last season.
The Blues are keen on keeping their star players, and Maresca has admitted that he wants competition for the starting spot up front. He stated in a recent press conference that he intends to rely on Jackson, Delap, and Pedro for the goals, rather than placing the burden on a single individual.
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He said (via Football London):
"For sure, Joao, Liam and Nico know exactly the No.9s at Chelsea . In my idea, I prefer to have all five players scoring 10 or 12 goals each rather than one striker scoring 40 goals. We expect more goals next season from our attacking players. Nico is okay. Game-plan for tomorrow? Every game we try to adapt a little bit ourselves in terms of finding solutions. Tomorrow we are going to do exactly the same."
AC Milan were said to be interested in signing Jackson and were ready to make a move. The San Siro side has a spot in their squad following Tammy Abraham's exit after his loan spell ended.
Alan Shearer claimed Chelsea would sell Nicolas Jackson
Alan Shearer was on the The Rest Is Football podcast when he spoke about how impressed he was with the attacking options at Chelsea. He believed that the Blues would part ways with Jackson as they had signed João Pedro and Liam Delap this summer. He said (via METRO):
"I don't know, am I playing devil's advocate here in thinking Jackson may be the one? That wouldn't surprise me if he was sold to someone, whether in our country or not, that's one that wouldn't surprise me if they made that decision. They've got some serious options in every forward position."
Chelsea activated the £30 million clause in Delap's Ipswich Town contract after the Premier League side were relegated. They agreed a £60 million deal to sign Pedro from Brighton & Hove Albion. Both forwards have made their debuts for the club at the FIFA Club World Cup.
