Nicolas Jackson’s first 50 games at Chelsea compared to Didier Drogba

“You can not evaluate [Nicolas] Jackson now with Didier Drogba,” Mauricio Pochettino warned throughout the brand new striker’s first season at Chelsea.

Whereas the departed Argentine coach could be proper to keep away from judging Jackson by the lofty requirements of Drogba’s complete Chelsea profession, the 2 characters loved and endured comparable begins to life in west London. Each arrived as thrilling centre forwards tasked with instantly transferring their goalscoring feats on the continent to the Premier League.

Jackson is at an earlier stage in his profession in comparison with late-blooming Drogba, who joined the Blues extra in his prime years as some of the costly strikers on the planet in 2004. However the 23-year-old Senegal worldwide actually left his mark on the Blues throughout an eventful debut marketing campaign.

This is how the 2 strikers fared throughout their opening 50 video games for Chelsea.

Each Jackson and Drogba struggled in entrance of aim instantly after touchdown in London. Chelsea’s modern-day ahead earned his first Premier League suspension for an accumulation of yellow playing cards earlier than he scored his second aim within the competitors.

Drogba solely netted as soon as throughout his first 5 appearances for the Blues earlier than bagging a brace on his Champions League debut for the membership. The 2004 recruit was at his finest in Europea in the course of the early phases of his profession in English soccer – which is unsurprising given his expertise on the continent with a Marseille aspect that made it to the UEFA Cup closing shortly earlier than Drogba was offered.

The Ivory Coast worldwide mirrored on the criticism – from residence and opposition followers – which got here his approach at Chelsea. “As quickly as I miss an opportunity it is: ‘Why did they spend a lot cash on him?'” Drogba advised the BBC in January 2005, six months after his arrival. “There’s even a tune about it. However I like that. It motivates me.”

Jackson’s ending has additionally left lots to be desired. The unrefined ahead, who spent no time in any recognised footballing academy, might be extremely erratic in entrance of aim. Solely two Premier League gamers missed extra of what Opta outline as ‘huge possibilities’ throughout his debut marketing campaign, whereas his tally of 14 top-flight objectives was considerably decrease than the xG determine of 18.6.

Drogba’s Chelsea profession was quarter-hour previous when he supplied his first help in a blue shirt. Afforded oceans of area in entrance of Manchester United’s skittish rearguard, the towering ahead flicked a header into the stride of Eidur Gudjohnsen to attain the one aim of the sport. That victory served as a marker for Jose Mourinho’s new title challengers and supplied the primary trace of Drogba’s aerial artistry.

The bodily imposing striker was simply as deft together with his brow as most gamers are with their ft. Frank Lampard grew to become a chief beneficiary of Drogba’s unrivalled hold-up play, bursting from midfield onto the array of knockdowns.

After the duo mixed throughout a well-known Champions League overcome Bayern Munich in 2005 – which a suspended Mourinho watched from a laundry basket – Drogba advised UEFA: “[Lampard] is aware of that after I bounce, I at all times attempt to discover somebody from my head. He is good, and this is not the primary time he is scored this type of aim. He is aware of my sport.” The pair would go on to develop into some of the prolific scoring duos in Premier League historical past, teeing one another up for 36 top-flight objectives.

Jackson has discovered his model of Lampard within the type of Cole Palmer. Nearly a 3rd of the ahead’s objectives have been created by Chelsea’s talisman, whereas all however three of Jackson’s assists have landed at Palmer’s ft. If the modern-day duo proceed to mix on the identical horrifying price, they’re on track to surpass the haul amassed by Drogba and Lampard.

Whereas Jackson is but to carry his first piece of silverware with Chelsea, Drogba had already hoisted aloft three trophies after his first 50 video games for the Blues. The Ivorian undoubtedly benefitted from arriving in London within the early phases of Chelsea’s Roman Abramovich period, becoming a member of a aspect funded by unrivalled riches and led by one of many biggest managers of all time.

Nonetheless, Drogba established his lofty status as the last word ‘big-game participant’ six months into his Chelsea profession. After Mourinho had been banished to the stands for taunting Liverpool’s supporters because the 2005 League Cup closing entered further time, the coach’s marquee summer season arrival managed to scramble Glen Johnson’s lengthy throw over the road to place the Blues 2-1 up in a showpiece they might finally win 3-2.

Overcome by the emotion of the event, Drogba celebrated by ripping off his quantity 15 shirt – the identical set of digits which Jackson would inherit twenty years later.

“It was a bit bit tough at first,” Drogba defined on the finish of his debut season at Chelsea, as quoted by Sky Sports activities, “as a result of after I first got here to London, I used to be very, very drained.” The completed ahead claimed that accidents and fatigue restricted him to “60%” of his potential at first, earlier than he grew into the position.

Jackson could not blame any health issues, however adopted the identical studying curve as Drogba. The pair even recorded precisely the identical variety of objectives (21) throughout their first 50 video games in blue.

Chelsea’s present quantity 15 insisted firstly of the 2024/25 marketing campaign that he’s “nonetheless within the studying course of”. The longer term appears more and more vivid for the hungry younger ahead who has loved a prolific begin to the brand new season, however Drogba’s Chelsea profession reveals that no improvement is a straight line. The membership icon solely scored 22 objectives throughout his subsequent 50 video games for Chelsea.

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