Chelsea are reportedly mulling over a late bid for a new striker as the prospect of losing Nicolas Jackson this summer remains on the table.
The Senegal international had all but sealed a “record” loan move to Bayern Munich on Saturday morning. Yet, while Jackson was getting acquainted with his new Bavarian home, Liam Delap pulled up with a hamstring injury against Fulham 700 miles away. Once it became apparent that the English forward would be out for between six to eight weeks, Chelsea cancelled Jackson’s move to Bayern.
Reports quickly emerged claiming that Jackson was “furious” and the player’s outspoken agent Diomansy Kamara voiced his displeasure on Instagram, claiming: “We’re not going back... The plane isn’t flying back. Munich.”
Chelsea remain adamant that Jackson will not be allowed to complete his loan move to Bayern but, were he to secure a permanent exit, the Blues are “studying contingency plans,” according to The Athletic. Sporting CP’s Conrad Harder, who inherited Viktor Gyökeres’s No. 9 shirt in Lisbon, is reported to be one of the numerous targets Chelsea have enquired about in this whirlwind few hours.
Following the permanent departure of Christopher Nkunku to AC Milan and Delap’s injury, João Pedro would be the only senior striker available to Enzo Maresca should Jackson leave.
The Blues are also considering recalling Marc Guiu from his loan spell with Sunderland barely three weeks after sending the young Spanish striker to the Stadium of Light, per The Telegraph.
Bayern Munich sporting director Max Eberl did not offer much optimism regarding a permanent move for Jackson, which would reportedly cost as much as €65 million (£56.3 million, $76 million). “We’ll tell the player and his agent that they have to return because Chelsea... We simply don’t have a signed contract,” he sighed on Saturday evening.
“We have 48 hours left. This isn’t a situation we could have really planned for, but we’ll try to find a solution there as well,” the increasingly beleaguered official lamented.
“First, we’re still considering it, and as long as we can act, we’ll consider whether to act and how to act. If we then decide in one direction, that we’re not going to do anything, then that’s a decision, but first we still have the opportunity to decide, and we’ll try to do that to the best of our ability.”
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This article was originally published on www.si.com as Chelsea ‘Consider’ Striker Signing in Shock Twist to Nicolas Jackson Saga.
