As I watch Chelsea rebuild their squad, I think a lot of people have had the same concerns, and probably still do (I do).
We all acknowledge that we have a lot of quality in our squad right now, and I’ve mentioned several times over the last few weeks how scary our attacking midfield looks right now. The amount of quality we have in that area right now is ridiculous. Christopher Nkunku can’t even start right now. It’s crazy.
But one thing I always worry about is that there are too many raw players and there is no guarantee that they will ever be cooked. But it is also true that just because something is raw doesn’t mean it can’t be cooked or cooked soon. The same goes for raw players.
If all this works, Chelsea’s squad builders will be laughing. It’s always been a very risky strategy, but it could work. It could still fail miserably. I’m not saying we’re there yet. Not at all. But players like Nicholas Jackson are showing that raw players can succeed.
Jackson was heavily criticised and even abused by some Chelsea fans when he first arrived. I have always had concerns about Jackson and I will never hide it. I still have concerns about him in front of goal and I will not let that go just because he scored twice on Saturday and showed that he can actually score ‘harder’ chances. But I have always been open to changing my mind, but that can happen over time. Jackson was very immature when he arrived here, but is he maturing now? Maybe. Time will tell.
Now if you look at social or Chelsea fan communities, Jackson is loved and everyone is praising him and he deserves it. But it shows how quickly the narrative can change. Is it just Jackson evolving? Probably.
I still believe he is a bigger threat on the left and see him as a wide player rather than a central one, but what he has done recently is a scary prospect for defenders. When he gets the ball, turns and runs, defenders can’t deal with him.
Edson Alvarez is said to have threatened to kill Enzo Fernandez after Saturday’s game. But I think it was because he was so angry that Jackson sent him to Tesco to buy something to celebrate a goal. He didn’t even come close to scoring the opening goal.
Jackson has been excellent and if he can continue to show improvement in his finishing, there is absolutely no reason why my concerns and doubts cannot be completely allayed. No striker can finish every chance they get, but Jackson’s finishing is improving and if he can continue to do so in an upward direction, he will truly prove the critics and doubters wrong.
People like John Obi Mikel have rightly raised concerns about Jackson’s finishing, but I’m sure even he would be praising Jackson this week.
We should always remember Didier Drogba and how poor he was in his first season here. But look what happened. He became a Chelsea legend and got nothing but praise. Jackson can get there if he keeps improving. Why not?
But the truth here is that signing too many raw players at once and not balancing them with more established players has always been a risky strategy in my opinion, and many others have mentioned it, such as Joe Cole and Frank Lampard. But it is also a strategy that can work, but it just takes time. My question is, as always, do we have that time?
Let’s see how this season and the next game will go. I won’t get too far ahead of myself or too excited. It’s a long season and there are some very tough games coming up, and these games will test our quality and whether our young players have matured. There’s a big test of character and mentality coming up.
