Last summer, Chelsea invested heavily across the entire squad, including the centre forward spot.
Nicolas Jackson was brought to the club in an attempt to replace Romelu Lukaku and Kai Havertz, and it’s fair to say that his first season at the club was a success.
In the Premier League alone, the 23-year-old started 31 top-flight games, scoring an excellent 14 goals and also providing five assists.
Despite that, the Blues are keen to bolster the attacking department once again with a player who’d even be an upgrade on the Senegal star.
Chelsea want to purchase a new striker
As per a report from the Daily Mail, Chelsea are keen on making Alexander Isak a Blue this summer.
It’s said that the Blues have ‘made an enquiry’ about the Newcastle United star as they look to bolster the centre-forward spot.
‘Conversations have taken place’ between the Magpies and Chelsea, but they’d have to surpass the fee of their club record signing, Moises Caicedo.
This means that a figure of more than £115m would be required, but that could prove to be too pricey for Todd Boehly.
Why Isak would be a huge upgrade on Jackson
Since arriving at Newcastle in 2022, Isak has simply been absolutely outstanding when handed the opportunity to lead the line.
His first campaign at St. James’ Park saw him rotate frequently with Callum Wilson, but he still hit ten goals in 17 league starts, which is a fantastic return.
In truth, it’s incredibly difficult to find any genuine flaws within his game, and last season, he really took the next step that cemented himself as one of the finest centre forwards in England, with football scout Jacek Kulig calling him “incredible.”
Across the Premier League campaign, the Swede started 27 matches, and in the process, he scored an impressive 21 goals and provided two assists, a clear improvement on his previous output.
|
Isak vs Jackson 23/24 PL Stats |
||
|---|---|---|
|
Stats (per 90) |
Isak |
Jackson |
|
Goals |
0.84 |
0.45 |
|
xG |
0.81 |
0.60 |
|
Shots |
2.87 |
2.57 |
|
Shots/goals |
0.22 |
0.18 |
|
Progressive carries |
2.71 |
2.25 |
|
Successful take-ons |
1.68 |
1.74 |
|
Via FBref |
||
As you can see, when Isak’s attacking statistics are compared to Jackson’s, they’re simply on another level.
Firstly, the only statistic that really matters when it comes to centre forwards’ is their goals, as they obviously determine the outcome of every single game, and Isak is simply much more deadly.
Last season, Jackson underperformed his xG quite significantly every single game, with a lack of composure and a wasteful trait holding the Blues back at times, but with Isak, that wouldn’t be the case based on his xG to goals ratio, and goals to shot stat.
However, Chelsea’s number 15 does play a huge role outside of just goals that enable the attack to function effectively, with his ability to drop slightly deeper, carry the ball, and also have movement in behind being so important.
Luckily, if Chelsea did opt for Isak, he would also be able to provide all of those attributes, as shown by his progressive carries and successful take-ons, as well as the fact that Jackson is the Swede’s most similar player in the Premier League, according to FBref.
Overall, it’s clear that with Isak, Chelsea would be getting a similar player to Jackson but just on an entirely different level, and a player of Isak’s quality could be the difference between achieving silverware or not.
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