Pat Nevin settles the score on who is better out of Joao Pedro and Nicolas Jackson at Chelsea
There has been little debate over Chelsea’s striker position across the last two seasons, but suddenly it’s a huge talking point after a busy summer to date.
Nicolas Jackson, 24, has been the clear first-choice striker at Chelsea in the last couple of years. At times, he’s shown the kind of form to suggest he could be the long-term solution at Stamford Bridge, but he’s still not a clinical finisher in front of goal.
Jackson’s starting position has perhaps now come under question following the arrivals of both Joao Pedro and Liam Delap this summer.
Reports this week claim that there is a possibility Jackson leaves Chelsea in the summer transfer window amid interest from clubs in the Premier League and Serie A.
As the transfer news intensifies around Jackson’s future, the new Blues attackers have both made positive early impressions at the Club World Cup tournament. Delap scored his first Chelsea goal against ES Tunis in the group stages, while Pedro’s stunning brace fired the club to a win against Fluminense in the semi-finals.
Pat Nevin rates Joao Pedro well above Nicolas Jackson
According to Pat Nevin, Chelsea definitely improve with Pedro replacing Jackson in the starting line-up.
“Is Joao Pedro the missing piece of the jigsaw? He’s one of them,” Nevin told FIFA.
“I think it would be really tough on Nicolas Jackson. He has immediately gone from number one to number three (behind Joao Pedro and Liam Delap, another new recruit) and that’s hard because you don’t need three, you need two centre forwards. But Joao Pedro is an upgrade, I don’t think there is much doubt about that.
“If you look at the percentages of the chances that he’ll get at Chelsea compared with Brighton he’s going to score a lot of goals.”
| Player | Clubs | Appearances | Goals | Assists |
| Nicolas Jackson | Chelsea, Villarreal, Mirandes | 146 | 44 | 19 |
| Joao Pedro | Watford, Brighton, Fluminense, Chelsea | 217 | 66 | 20 |
Even though Pedro is a versatile attacker, he certainly looked the part as the central striker recently against Fluminense. Interestingly, Pedro claimed his best position as at striker after joining Chelsea from Brighton for £60m this summer.
It looks like the 23-year-old Brazilian forward will get the opportunity to compete with Delap in West London next term.
If Jackson does leave the Blues, it feels like they already have their replacement in the squad.
Joao Pedro dream becomes more realistic if Nicolas Jackson exits
We would expect Jackson to fight hard to keep his starting role at Chelsea if he stays, but the noise is beginning to grow about his potential departure.
The reality is that Jackson leaving could be good news for both Pedro and Delap.
In particular, Pedro dreams of leading the line for Brazil at the 2026 World Cup, which will surely only be realistic if he’s starting and playing well on a consistent basis in Chelsea colours.
It’s important that Chelsea fans don’t get too carried away with Pedro yet after his quick start, but it does feel like things may be falling into place for him quite nicely already.
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