Former Chelsea player John Obi Mikel has claimed that the club are missing Nicolas Jackson on the pitch. He believes that the striker was key to Cole Palmer doing well and also pressing the opponents.

Speaking on the Obi One podcast, Mikel claimed that Jackson’s importance at Chelsea was not appreciated enough during his time at the club. He added that the main problem is the lack of press upfront and said:

“People [are] getting this wrong. We said it so many times. He was a fantastic player and I actually think right now we are missing him. We are missing Nicholas Jackson. I can say that now right now in the pod and I said it so many times that he was a good player.

“What he gave us no striker has given it to us. Yes, Joao Pedro is scoring goals. He’s doing all this. Yes. But what Nicholas Jackson was giving us in terms of number one pressing high. The way he was pressing aggressively well.”

Mikel went on to add that the striker was also creating chances and space for his teammates, which Joao Pedro is unable to replicate. He said:

“The connection between him and Cole Palmer. Palmer looks lost without Nicholas Jackson right now. The creativity that he had, the link of play that he had, the way he was always stretching teams to give us that freedom in the middle for players to come in in that pocket and pick up the ball and turn and create chances. Nobody’s giving us that. Yes, we are missing Nicholas Jackson.”

Nicolas Jackson was loaned out to Bayern Munich in the summer after the striker requested the move. Chelsea tried to block the move at the last minute due to an injury to Liam Delap, but the Senegal star forced the deal.

John Obi Mikel never rated Nicolas Jackson at Chelsea

John Obi Mikel slammed Nicolas Jackson at every chance last season, even claiming that the striker was not good enough to help Chelsea make it to the top four in the Premier League. He said on his podcast in January 2025:

“We are not clinical enough, he [Nicolas Jackson] is not scoring enough goals. He puts himself in the right positions but then he’s not finishing, he’s not scoring enough. He’s not a striker who’s going to get us to the top four or win us the Premier League title. He’s not that striker. I don’t think he can get us over the line in terms of winning trophies.”

Bayern Munich have an option to sign Jackson permanently this summer, but are unlikely to activate it.