The dramatic back-and-forth surrounding Nicolas Jackson has ended happily for FC Bayern: the striker is initially moving from Chelsea to Munich on loan.
In the final hours of the summer transfer window, FC Bayern has finally found a prominent reinforcement—one that had seemed to be off the table for a while: striker Nicolas Jackson (24) is moving from Chelsea FC to Säbener Straße on loan. According to reports, the German record champions are paying a loan fee of €16.5 million and have an option to buy, which could become mandatory under certain conditions. If this option is exercised, Bayern will have to transfer €65 million to the Blues.
This marks the end of a veritable transfer spectacle over the past few days. On Saturday, Jackson’s loan seemed to have fallen through shortly before his medical examination because Chelsea striker Liam Delap was injured and the club had therefore called Jackson back. “We’re sending the boy back,” Bayern’s sporting director Max Eberl had explained, but contrary to Chelsea’s announcement, Jackson remained in Munich and continued to hope for an agreement — with success.
“Nicolas was enthusiastic about playing for FC Bayern from the start, so we are all the more delighted that it has finally worked out,” Eberl said when everything was finalized. “He has already gained a lot of experience at the top international level in his young career and has shown what qualities he has.”
In general, the Senegalese player “fits very well” into Munich’s “requirement profile with his dynamism and presence. He is hungry, will expand our offensive options with his skills, and will immediately be a reinforcement for our team,” Eberl continued.
Sporting director Christoph Freund added that Jackson “brings a lot of speed, is dangerous in front of goal and looks for ways to get in behind the defense. He is also an open, positive guy and will have no trouble adapting to our team.”
At Chelsea, Jackson slipped into second place
Last season, when Chelsea won the Conference League and the Club World Cup, Jackson was still a regular in the Blues’ center forward position, but he was never entirely uncontroversial. With the arrival of Delap, who came from relegated Ipswich Town, and especially Joao Pedro (Brighton), he slipped into the second string in the summer. Now the national team striker is moving to Spain (Villarreal) and England for his third foreign posting.
The 1.86-meter-tall right-footed player leaves the Premier League with a record of 65 games, 24 goals, and ten assists. He has never played in the Champions League before. His debut there awaits him on September 17 (9 p.m.)—against Chelsea.
In Germany, he is looking forward to “being part of this great club now. FC Bayern is one of the best clubs in the world: everyone knows the names of the legends who have played here and knows that this club stands for the greatest successes. I have big goals and dreams here and will give everything to win more titles with Bayern.”
Jackson trained at Casa Sports in Senegal before moving to Spain in 2019 to join Villarreal CF, where he initially struggled to establish himself. After a loan spell at second division side CD Mirandes, he returned to the Yellow Submarine for the 2021/22 season and took off: his La Liga debut in October 2021 was followed by a total of 48 competitive games and 13 goals before Chelsea lured him to England in the summer of 2023.
