Chelsea must x their “all waste of money”

Chelsea’s chance to secure a spot in the Champions League was hit when they lost 2-0 to Newcastle United in the Premier League on Sunday.

The Blues remain fifth in the division in their final Champions League spot, but only one point separates them from Aston Villa and Nottingham Forest at the table.

As shown in the highlights above, Enzo Maresca’s side was not helped by Nicholas Jackson’s decision to charge Sven Bottman while the ball was in the air.

Senegal International saw the Dutch defender and worked to win an air duel while moving the defender to the top chest and bottom of the Newcastle Star, and recommended the striker to a red card.

Jackson will now compete in the final two games of the Premier League season and the first of the 2025/26 campaign. This is a big blow to the Blues.

Why is losing Nicholas Jackson a big blow to Chelsea?

The former Villarre Alstar scored three goals in the final three matches before his trip to St. James Park, and after a barren run he appeared to be back on his best halfway in front of the goal.

Before his strike against Everton in the Premier League last month, Jackson went back to mid-December, playing 13 matches without goals in all Blues tournaments.

However, goals against Toffee and two goals against Jurgarden in the conference league suggested he was on track to play a pivotal role in the final few games of the season.

There is no doubt that Jackson is a player with the ability to make a big impact in Chelsea’s final third despite his tendency to miss “big chances.”

As you can see from the table above, the former Lariga star is a wasted finisher and lost 43 “big chances” but is directly involved in 34 goals in the club’s 65 Premier League matches.

This shows that despite his flaws, Jackson is a constant threat that can make a difference at the top edge of the pitch as a scorer or goal creator. So losing him in the last two games of the campaign is a blow to Maresca.

The 23-year-old centre forward, who scored a hat-trick against the Spurs last season, is Chelsea’s best number nine option and proves he can score goals in the Premier League, so he’s proven why it serves as an option heading into these last two games.

What makes the Blues even worse is their other forward option, Christopher Nekunk, is currently on the injury that will keep him out of the last two games if he doesn’t recover in time.

But while not the only problem with France International, the club has to mercilessly cash out him this summer as he was unable to provide quality when he was called when he fits this season.

Why does Chelsea have to cash in on Christopher Nukank?

The Premier League side reportedly paid £52 million to take him from RB Leipzig to Stamford Bridge in the summer of 2023.

Nkunku scored 70 goals and provided 55 assists in 17 matches for Leipzig in all competitions in Germany.

Unfortunately, however, France International has struggled to make an impact in the final third of the blues, which has not been able to translate that form into British football in two seasons at Stamford Bridge.

After the club left the FA Cup at the hands of Brighton earlier this year, former Chelsea player Craig Burley criticised the 27-year-old star.

Burley said: “The game was not cutting edge. (Cole) Palmer stopped affecting the game like he did. Nukank means what he was before.”

It is difficult to discuss an assessment of the Nkunku situation. Because he doesn’t provide much quality to the pitch to compensate for the £52 million fee and £195,000 per week wages as a forward player.

As you can see from the table above, the French flop has been involved in seven goals in 38 Premier League appearances since the start of last season, falling below XG overall.

The experienced forward has not provided goals or assists on regular or semi-regular standards of top flights despite his heavy spending of bringing him to London almost two years ago.

Arsenal has linked interest in Nukank ahead of the summer transfer period, and Chelsea will ultimately need to win a big money flop to recover some of the £52 million fees that ultimately splattered over his services.

The Frenchman hasn’t done enough to suggest that he will become a key player to move forward given his lack of quality in the Premier League. So the club should mercilessly throw him away this summer, whether it’s Arsenal or another.