Chelsea and Bayern Munich have finally reached an agreement for striker Nicolas Jackson after weeks of back-and-forth negotiations.
The 24-year-old Senegalese forward is set to join the German champions on an initial loan worth £14.3m (€16.5m), with a crucial clause attached: a mandatory £56.2m (€65m) permanent transfer triggered by a minimum number of appearances. In total, the package is valued at more than £70m, slightly better terms than the original deal that was on the table.
Jackson has already agreed personal terms on a five-year contract with Bayern, ending a transfer saga that looked uncertain after Chelsea initially recalled him when Liam Delap picked up an injury during their Premier League win over Fulham.
Signed from Villarreal for £32m in 2023, Jackson went on to score 30 goals in 81 games for Chelsea. But his time at Stamford Bridge was marred by disciplinary issues, including two red cards last season – one in April against Newcastle and another just four minutes after coming on in Chelsea’s Club World Cup defeat to Flamengo.
While manager Enzo Maresca once described him as the “perfect number nine,” reports suggest the striker eventually lost the trust of both the head coach and parts of the club hierarchy.
Chelsea have already moved to reinforce their attacking options, bringing in Facundo Buonanotte from Brighton on a season-long loan for a £2m fee. The Argentine youngster joins Delap and Joao Pedro, who were both signed during Chelsea’s Club World Cup campaign.
Jackson could be reunited with his former teammates sooner than expected – Bayern face Chelsea in the Champions League on September 17 in Munich, and UEFA rules mean he will be eligible to play against his parent club.
