Nicolas Jackson reveals which European giant he rejected to join Chelsea: "I was supposed to go to another team"

Nicolas Jackson. (Deposit Photos)

Nicolas Jackson has revealed the huge European club he turned down to join Chelsea. The Senegalese striker completed a £32 million switch from Villarreal to Chelsea last summer. Since, he's established himself as a fan favourite at Stamford Bridge and one of the Premier League's top strikers, having netted 25 goals and registered nine assists in 59 games for Enzo Maresca's side. During a recent interview with Greatest Sport, Jackson let out that prior to moving to West London, he was actually supposed to join AC Milan.

Jackson has been a star for Chelsea since moving to the club last summer. (Deposit Photos)

He said: "I'd played and scored 12 goals for Villarreal. I was going on holiday, told my agent I just wanted to enjoy myself. I was supposed to go to another team, Milan maybe. I got a call and he said: 'Forget about that, we're going to Chelsea.'" Jackson went on to explain how some his friends and teammates from the Senegal national team had tried to convince him not to join the Blues because they thought it would be "too much pressure," but he opted to ignore their warnings. "I was ready to play here. I knew the pressure and I heard the strikers that came here and had tough times. I was ready to face that," he said.

Jackson on collapsed Aston Villa transfer: "I was very angry"

AC Milan aren't the only club Jackson came close to joining before moving to Chelsea – he once also saw a proposed move to Aston Villa fall through. Jackson told Greatest Sport that in 2022 when Villarreal manager Unai Emery left the club to join Villa, the Spaniard wanted to take him with him. The deal collapsed, however, due to an injury, Jackson said.

Nicolas Jackson at Villarreal. (Shutterstock)

“I wanted to leave because the coach came in, but I was injured a little bit in my hamstring," Jackson recalled. "We went there, they checked and said I needed one more month and they want me now. They want me in one week, two weeks, but I was not ready, so they had to cancel the transfer, and I went back." Jackson said that while he was "very angry" at the time, the failed move spurred him on to become a star for Villarreal.

“When we were on the plane, I told my friend, ‘Don’t worry, better things will come and that’s life.’ Then I started working more to play with Villarreal," he said. "When I came back, I think I scored 12 goals in two months.”