Chelsea head coach Enzo Maresca warned Nicolas Jackson’s importance to the team will be demonstrated in his absence with the striker ruled out until April with a hamstring injury.
The 23-year-old came off during the 2-1 win over West Ham earlier in February and missed Saturday’s FA Cup exit against Brighton, with his deputy in the number nine role Christopher Nkunku turning in an ineffectual display.
Nkunku had only 34 touches at the Amex Stadium and no shots on goal as Chelsea limped out of the cup with one of their worst performances of the season.
ℹ️ Maresca's latest update on his squad for a second trip to the Amex Stadium inside seven days.
— Chelsea FC (@ChelseaFC) February 13, 2025
That the France international was involved so little was particularly concerning for Maresca, who prizes Jackson for his support play and work off the ball as much as his for his goalscoring, and with the striker facing a lengthy spell out the head coach conspicuously failed to name Nkunku as automatic replacement.
Jackson has scored nine times this season, all in the Premier League, whilst of Nkunku’s 13 goals only two have come in the league, from three starts.
“Christo could be one of the solutions but he’s not the only solution,” said Maresca, whose side travel to Brighton for the second time in a week on Friday. “We’re going to try to find different solutions.
“It can be Christo as he played the last game. It can be different kinds of players. For sure when you don’t have a proper nine that can be a threat, you have to change not only the nine but also a bit the way you want to play.
“Christo is not a nine, he is an attacking midfielder, but we use him as a nine to find a solution.”
Maresca was coy on what else that solution could look like, as with teenage striker Marc Guiu also set to be out for “a while”, Nkunku is the only fit player who has been used in the role this season.
Asked what impact it could have on the team, he said: “They (Jackson and Nkunku) are different, on the ball and off the ball. Sometimes we complain about players, then when they don’t play we realise how important they are for the team.
“Every press conference you ask me about Nico, every time I said he’s an important player, he’s doing fantastic. Then he didn’t play against Brighton and everyone was thinking it’s difficult to play without a nine.
“We know exactly how good Nico is. Christo is completely different player and this is the reason why we need to change something because we don’t have a proper nine in this moment.
“Not everything, but you need to adjust something because the skills of the players are different.”
It could leave Maresca looking to convert one of his wide players in the short term. Joao Felix, who as a flexible forward would have been the obvious choice, was loaned to AC Milan for the rest of the campaign in January. Cole Palmer could alternatively be deployed as a false nine.
Maresca added that Filip Jorgensen is now the team’s first-choice goalkeeper after he replaced the error-prone Robert Sanchez for the West Ham win.
“Our keeper in this moment is Filip.”
