
Aston Villa nears deal for Nicolas Jackson from Chelsea as transfer window closes
Aston Villa is reportedly close to securing the transfer of Senegalese forward Nicolas Jackson from Chelsea. Unai Emery's club has made an offer of approximately 70 million euros, including bonuses, for Jackson, which Chelsea is reportedly prepared to accept. Jackson, who returned to Stamford Bridge after Bayern Munich opted not to make his loan permanent, is not part of Xabi Alonso's plans. Chelsea, having signed Danny Welbeck and Emmanuel Emegha this summer, is looking to streamline its offensive lineup and finalize Jackson's departure swiftly. Since joining from Villarreal in 2023 for 35 million euros, Jackson has scored 30 goals and provided 12 assists in 81 matches across all competitions, including 11 goals during his loan spell in Munich last season. Aston Villa's interest in Jackson is long-standing, with Unai Emery, who previously worked with him at Villarreal, viewing him as an ideal addition to strengthen their attack, especially given the uncertain future of Ollie Watkins. The final step for Aston Villa is to agree on contract terms with Jackson, which would finalize the transfer ahead of competition from Atl茅tico de Madrid and Tottenham. In a separate move, Aston Villa also made an offer of around 22 million euros for Crystal Palace's French forward Jean-Philippe Mateta, but this offer was rejected by Crystal Palace, who deemed it too low.



