Nicolas Jackson admits he wanted to join shock Premier League club before signing for Chelsea and a deal was very close

Nicolas Jackson has revealed that he came close to signing for a different Premier League club before he joined Chelsea in 2023.

The Blues brought Jackson in from Villarreal and the Senegal striker has scored 25 goals in 59 appearances, but he might have been scoring them elsewhere in the Premier League.

Jackson attracted the attention of some of the Premier League's biggest clubs with his goal tally in Spain but it was a manager who knew him already that made the first move and it's believed the transfer that never happened was at one point a realistic prospect.

"When Unai [Emery] left, he wanted me to go to Aston Villa, but I was injured," said Jackson on a possible reunion with his former Villarreal coach.

"I wanted to leave because the [new] coach came in. I had to go, but I was injured a little bit in my hamstring. We went there, they checked and said I needed one more month and they want me now. If they want me in one week, two weeks, I was not ready, so they had to cancel the transfer."

The close call didn't go unnoticed by the football gods. Chelsea have beaten Emery's Villa twice in Jackson's four appearances against them and the Blues striker scored in both of those victories. At the start of December, his early goal set Chelsea on the path to a 3-0 win over Villa in the Premier League.

Nicolas Jackson has scored eight Premier League goals this season (Image credit: Getty)

Jackson hasn't lacked for goals since moving to England but it took until his second season for his true value to Chelsea to gain proper recognition. In the summer, the club's apparent interest in then-Napoli striker Victor Osimhen wasn't appreciated by the Senegalese international.

Chelsea's fortunes have improved significantly under new head coach Enzo Maresca. They've climbed into second place in the Premier League and have been scoring freely. Jackson played a big part in that and Chelsea's relative stability suits him.

Unai Emery was close to a reunion with Nicolas Jackson at Aston Villa (Image credit: Getty)

Jackson's goals-per-game ratio this season has jumped back up to the level that made him a target for Chelsea after his move to Villa Park fell through. He's scored eight times and made three in the Premier League in 2024-25. Those combined goal contributions are coming at the same rate as his last season in Spain after dropping to 0.6 per game last season.