Chelsea manager Mauricio Pochettino has backed Nicolas Jackson and says there is need to believe in him.
The Senegal international has struggled for consistency since arriving from Villarreal last summer, raising questions about his ability to lead the Blues front line.
Despite the criticism, Jackson has scored 12 goals in all competitions, nine of them in the Premier League, including the opening goal of Chelsea’s 3-2 win over Newcastle United on Monday night.
It continued the trend of Chelsea never losing whenever the 22-year-old finds the back of the net.
Pochettino believes Jackson is making progress and will become more prolific in front of goal with more game time.
Chelsea haven't lost a Premier League match when Nicolas Jackson has scored (W4, D2) ????
His effort was also the Blues' earliest goal in a home match since Pedro v Fulham in December 2018! #CHENEW pic.twitter.com/jR657Z6h15
— Premier League (@premierleague) March 11, 2024
“Of course, he [Jackson] is improving. We need to understand the players when they are young and arrive from outside of England. They need time to learn the Premier League,” Pochettino said after the victory over Newcastle.
“They also need their teammates to perform, but he is doing really well. The effort is there, you see that with how he presses, and he has the quality. With more games and more experience, he is going to be more calm and more clinical in front of the goal.
“He has the capacity to be an offensive player that can score a lot of goals for Chelsea, we need to keep believing.”
Chelsea remain in 11th place on the Premier League table, one point behind Newcastle who occupy 10th spot.
