Chelsea interested in Villarreal forward Nicolas Jackson?

Chelsea have allegedly identified Villarreal forward Nicolas Jackson as a potential summer signing.

The Blues are currently in the process of trying to reduce their playing numbers and raise much-needed funds to comply with FFP regulations.

However, while the severity of Chelsea's financial situation was understood by Mauricio Pochettino upon accepting the job of head coach, it was made clear that he would be able to add to his squad.

If a recent report is to be believed, the Argentine is prepared to leave his goalkeeping options alone, instead focusing his attention on midfield and attack.

The former may be become more clear if, or when, N'Golo Kante and Mateo Kovacic join Al-Ittihad and Manchester City respectively, but Chelsea will definitely sign at least one central striker this summer.

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Napoli's Victor Osimhen and Juventus' Dusan Vlahovic are among the players to have been linked with a switch to West London, with those names in question valued in the region of £100m and £70m respectively.

Nevertheless, that is not to say that alternatives will not be considered, and it appears that Chelsea are keen to sign a player who could have been plying his trade for Bournemouth earlier this year.

According to the Evening Standard, Williams is now of interest to Chelsea after his strong end to the season in the colours of Villarreal.

The Yellow Submarine would have sold the Senegal international in January had the Cherries not been left unconvinced over the 21-year-old's hamstring issues.

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Instead, Jackson ended the La Liga campaign with 12 goals and four assists from just 1603 minutes of football, with 11 of those contributions coming in his final seven outings of 2022-23.

Chelsea are now said to have opened discussions with Jackson's representatives having been left impressed with his impact during the run-in.

A release clause of €35m (£29.9m) is said to be present in his contract, according to Fabrizio Romano, and it is a price tag which may be deemed more achievable for Chelsea in their present situation.

As well as other Premier League clubs, AC Milan and RB Leipzig are also said to be monitoring the situation at a time when it appears increasingly likely that Jackson will move elsewhere before the next campaign.