Chelsea icon blasts Nicolas Jackson, urges Maresca to take critical decision

Former Chelsea midfielder John Obi Mikel has accused Nicolas Jackson of not scoring enough after the forward drew another blank in Saturday’s 1-1 draw with Crystal Palace.

Despite playing to their full potential, Chelsea failed to secure all three points as the Blues’ lack of composure in the final third saw them drop more crucial points in the Premier League.

Leading the line against Palace, Jackson missed a couple of excellent chances at Selhurst Park and has now failed to score in four top-flight matches.

Despite having nine goals to his name this season, Mikel Obi has urged Chelsea to look elsewhere for a new forward, highlighting the importance of signing someone like Victor Osimhen or Viktor Gyokeres.

“We are creating chances, we are still playing well, we are still doing the right things but we are not clinical enough, we’re not scoring goals,” Mikel said on The Obi One Podcast.

“We have 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.

“If we had Victor Osimhen or the guy from Sporting, Viktor Gyokeres, trust me, we’d still be competing for the Premier League.”

Maresca was frustrated with the draw at Palace, which left Chelsea winless in the Premier League in four matches.

Though the Italian coach refused to blame Jackson and insisted that the Senegal international had a good game, it’s left to see if Chelsea will sign a new forward this January.