Chelsea in talks to sell £65m star after Xabi Alonso decision | Football

Chelsea are in talks to sell Nicolas Jackson after Xabi Alonso placed the striker in a group of players who are training away from the first-team squad ahead of the new season.

The Blues have more than 40 first-team players listed on their club website, meaning Alonso has been forced to split his squad as he prepares for Chelsea’s Premier League opener.

Chelsea have insisted the group on the periphery should not be considered a ‘bomb squad’ but they certainly do not feature in Alonso’s long-team plans at Chelsea.

Fellow striker Liam Delap and returning winger Mykhailo Mudryk are also in a second training group at Cobham.

Chelsea signed Jackson in a £32m deal from Villarreal in 2023 and were encouraged by his first season at Stamford Bridge in which he scored 17 goals in all competitions.

Jackson also hit double digits during the 2024-25 campaign but was then loaned out to Bayern Munich following the arrivals of Joao Pedro from Brighton and Delap from Ipswich Town.

The Senegal international was hoping to earn a permanent move to Bayern but the necessary conditions were not met and the Bundesliga champions opted against making a new deal with Chelsea.

As a result Jackson returned to west London but Chelsea bosses immediately made it clear that they were open to offloading him once again.

Premier League clubs Aston Villa and Tottenham have made approaches for the 25-year-old but Chelsea are currently discussing a deal with Napoli, according to Sky Italia.

Napoli are keen to strengthen Massimiliano Allegri’s attacking options ahead of the new season and also admire Arsenal’s Gabriel Jesus and Manchester United’s Joshua Zirkzee.

But their focus for the time being appears to be on Jackson, with reports in Italy claiming talks have began over a deal for the Chelsea man.

Villa have expressed interest in Jackson amid speculation England striker Ollie Watkins could leave the Midlands club for a lucrative move to Saudi Arabia.

With Chelsea open to selling Jackson for a fee of around £65m, Manchester United have even been advised to consider a move late in the summer window.

‘Nicolas Jackson is an option for Manchester United,’ Premier League title winner Quinton Fortune said earlier this month.

‘He’s coming off his loan at Bayern Munich and keeps getting clubs so he must have something.

‘I see him as more of a goal poacher. If you look at the purest of the pure footballers, he’s not a striker to bring it down and play it like Dimitar Berbatov or Wayne Rooney or Dwight Yorke but that’s what I like about him too.

‘He’s just an out-an-out striker. He doesn’t really care about anything else apart from getting into the box and getting on the end of whatever service he’s provided, and there’s nothing wrong with that. That’s still the hardest part of the game.

‘He’s almost like Erling Haaland at times and he shouldn’t get involved in the play so much. Tell the other guys they can do all the hard work and I’ll score the goals.

‘Whether he’s right for United, I don’t know about that, but you don’t play for Chelsea and Bayern Munich if you haven’t got something about you.’

Chelsea kick-start their 2026-27 campaign with a trip to west London rivals Fulham on Monday night.

‘We feel ready,’ Alonso said at his first Chelsea pre-match press conference on Thursday afternoon. ‘We have prepared the whole pre-season with some players from the first day, other ones coming later.

‘But the desire, the ambition, the hunger to start the Premier League is already in the building each training [session] and we’re looking forward to it.’

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