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Nicolas Jackson equals Chelsea cult hero's Premier League goalscoring record in 66 fewer games

Nicolas Jackson.
Nicolas Jackson. (Deposit Photos)

Nicolas Jackson's goal against Newcastle United on Sunday means he now has as many Premier League

goals for Chelsea as Fernando Torres.


Jackson hit the opener in Chelsea's 2-1 over the Magpies at Stamford Bridge, slotting home from close range after being teed up by Pedro Neto.


The strike was the Senegalese striker's sixth in the Premier League this term and his 20th in just 44 top flight games since moving to West London from Villarreal last summer.


Torres, meanwhile, managed the same total in 110 games between 2010 and 2014.


Fernando Torres.
Fernando Torres. (Deposit Photos)

Jackson, 23, split opinion when he first arrived at Chelsea, with the striker wasting chance after chance in front of goal during the first-half of last season.


His form improved as the campaign went on, however, and he finished his debut season with 17 goals in all competitions – one more than Blues legend Didier Drogba managed in his first season at the Bridge back in 2004/05.


This term, Jackson has picked up where he left off, scoring six in 10 games.


Like Jackson, Torres also struggled upon his arrival at Chelsea back in 2010, scoring only once in his first 18 games following his £50 million transfer from Liverpool.


Unlike Jackson, however, things never really got going for the Spaniard and he finished his Blues career with just 45 goals in 175 games.


Still, he is widely considered a cult-hero at the Bridge thanks to his famous goal against FC Barcelona in the 2012 Champions League semifinals. The strike essentially booked Chelsea's place in the final, where they went on to beat Bayern Munich to lift the trophy for the first-ever time.


Maresca full of praise for Jackson


Despite his impressive scoring form this season, Jackson isn't Chelsea's top scorer.


That title instead belongs to Christopher Nkunku, who has eight goals in all competitions, including four in the Europa Conference League.


Jackson, however, remains Enzo Maresca's clear first-choice striker, having started all nine of the club's Premier League games.


Christopher Nkunku.
Christopher Nkunku. (Deposit Photos)

Speaking ahead of the Newcastle game, Maresca explained exactly why he prefers to play Jackson over Nkunku, even if the Frenchman does have more goals.


"We know very well that he is important for us," Maresca said of Jackson, who also has three assists this term.


"On the ball he is working fantastic. He's scoring goals, he's assisting, he's linking with his team-mates," he added. "Off the ball he is working hard, he's pressing the way we want to press and he's doing fantastic with us.”


As a result of Nkunku's lack of Premier League game time, the 26-year-old has recently been linked with a move back to his boyhood club Paris Saint-Germain, who are reportedly monitoring his situation.


Asked about the rumours earlier this month, Nkunku said: “PSG remains a big club, but there has not been one approach."

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