Is Chelsea’s Nicolas Jackson coming for Haaland’s ‘best Premier League striker’ crown?
After the opening five Premier League rounds, there was an inevitable feeling that Manchester City and Erling Haaland would run away with it.
The insatiable Norwegian striker had scored a goal in each gameweek, totalling 10 goals, which included back-to-back hat-tricks. However, things have taken a downturn, as Haaland has only scored two goals in his subsequent seven appearances.
We are not suggesting that there is a centre-forward better than Haaland in England’s top division, regardless of his current form, but what if another player were to emerge?
Take a look at Squakwa’s centre-forward score. You’ll see that Nicolas Jackson is currently tied with Erling Haaland (79%), which is particularly impressive considering that many did not expect Jackson to perform so well, especially after a challenging debut season at Stamford Bridge.
He was initially placed as Chelsea’s central striker by then-coach Mauricio Pochettino due to Christopher Nkunku’s injury during pre-season. Facing significant pressure and arguably not fully prepared for the demands of the position, Jackson managed to turn things around. He ended the season with an admirable record of 14 goals and five assists.
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A glance at the Golden Boot rankings shows Jackson tied for fifth position. However, when penalties are excluded from the equation, the scenario changes significantly, revealing that only Haaland, with 11 goals, has surpassed the Senegalese international, who has netted seven times.
If that’s not impressive, then consider that Jackson has either scored or assisted in seven different Premier League games this season, the same number as Haaland. However, while Jackson has managed to do both in two separate games, Haaland has not achieved either in a single match.
Nicolas Jackson's game by numbers vs. Leicester:
28 touches
6 touches in opp. box
5 duels won
3x possession won
3 shots
3 shots on target
2 tackles
1 chance created
1 goalHis 7th PL goal of the season. ⚽️#LEICHE pic.twitter.com/g7N4LnwHKd
— Squawka Live (@Squawka_Live) November 23, 2024
Jackson’s standout performance so far was against West Ham. Prior to facing their East London rivals, he had scored two goals in Chelsea’s opening five games. This was still good enough for Blues head coach Enzo Maresca—who previously coached Haaland as Pep Guardiola’s assistant manager—to declare where he stands in the discussion about who should lead Chelsea’s attack.
“For me, in this moment, Nicolas is our striker, I don’t have any doubt,” he told reporters.
“Because of the way he is working day by day and the way he is working on the ball and off the ball. I think against City he was very good, Wolves away he scored and he gave an assist. Against Palace he was fighting until the end. At Bournemouth again he did well, had two or three chances he missed, but sometimes if you miss chances it doesn’t mean you’re not playing well.
“In this moment, we are very happy with Nicolas. In terms of numbers, last season and this season, it’s already important numbers.”
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Jackson’s assist tally is particularly noteworthy, as it exceeds any other centre-forward in the Premier League, and he’s created four big chances, a figure surpassed only by Raúl Jiménez (five).
When it comes to match-winning contributions, Haaland beats Jackson. Haaland played a crucial role in four victories for Manchester City, scoring the opening goal in their matches against Chelsea (2-0) and Southampton (1-0). He also significantly influenced games against West Ham (3-1) and Brentford (2-1) by equalising before netting the go-ahead goal.
In contrast, Jackson has only one match-winning goal to his credit, which he scored during Chelsea’s 3-0 win over West Ham, breaking the deadlock. Although many of Jackson’s goals have initially put Chelsea ahead, they have often been followed by the opposition levelling the score and then taking the lead, allowing other teammates to ultimately take the spotlight.
However, with his current trajectory, it won’t be long before Jackson captures those headlines for himself, possibly positioning himself as a credible challenger for Haaland’s crown.
