While they have faced plenty of flak for it in recent years, is it time to admit Chelsea might be onto something with their transfer strategy?
Since their takeover, the Blues have clearly focused on signing young, exciting talents with high ceilings and either integrating them into the side or selling them for profit.
The likes of Cole Palmer and Estevao fit into the latter category, while Noni Madueke and Lesley Ugochukwu fit into the former.
However, while the club have made an enormous amount of money this summer, there is one player they probably should have kept hold of, someone compared to Alexander Isak.
Chelsea's best sales this summer
As we’ve mentioned, most of Chelsea’s sales this summer have been quite impressive, with Madueke being a prime example of their strategy working.
Where Are They Now
Your star player or biggest flop has left the club but what are they doing in the present day? This article is part of Football FanCast’s Where Are They Now series.
They signed the Englishman from PSV Eindhoven for around £29m in January 2023.
Then, over the next two and a bit years, he made 92 appearances for the club, scored 20 goals, provided nine assists and was then sold to Arsenal for £52m, netting the club a tidy £33m profit.
Another great sale, from a financial perspective anyway, was that of Renato Veiga.
The Portuguese international cost the Blues around £12m last summer, and then joined Villarreal for £26m last month, after spending the 24/25 season out on loan.
Finally, Djordje Petrovic moved to Stamford Bridge for around £14m in August 2023 and was sold to Bournemouth for £25m this summer, which made him the tenth most expensive goalkeeper in history at the time.
Overall, you’d have to say that Chelsea did a great job with their departures this summer, apart from one, that is, a player who has been compared to Isak.
Chelsea's own Isak
From looking at the list of players who left Stamford Bridge over the last few months, it shouldn’t be too surprising to learnt that the player in question is Nicolas Jackson.
The Senegalese striker joined Bayern Munich on a season-long loan for £14.25m that includes an obligation to buy at £56.25m should certain conditions be met.
Now, there are some who would be happy to sell the dynamic forward, and that is fair enough; he wasn’t always the most clinical of strikers.
However, he is clearly a talented international, and one who has won comparisons to perhaps the best number nine in the world: Isak.
Yes, according to FBref, the Swedish monster was the number one most similar forward to the Blues star in the entire Premier League last season.
Non-Penalty Expected G+As
0.67
0.70
Shots
3.08
3.10
Shots on Target
1.38
1.34
Passing Accuracy
75.9%
75.3%
Goal-Creating Actions
0.41
0.46
Aerial Duels Won
0.85
0.85
That might sound unbelievable to some, but to gain a better understanding of how this conclusion was reached, we can examine some of the underlying numbers in which they ranked so closely.
In this instance, those metrics included non-penalty expected goals plus assists, shots and shots on target, goal-creating actions, aerial duels won and more, all per 90.
In other words, the “unbelievable” star, as dubbed by Peter Crouch, might not be as clinical as the new Liverpool man, but he’s just as creative and in the right situation could cause as much chaos for opposition defenders.
Ultimately, while moving on Jackson might end up being a good idea, we can help but think Todd Boehly and Co may have made a mistake, especially given the comparisons to Isak.
