Ex-Chelsea defender William Gallas is not confident that Nicolas Jackson is the striker to lead the line if the Blues are to become title contenders in the future.

While Gallas is a fan of the Senegalese international, he does not believe the forward has the ability to score over 20 league goals. He told Gambling Zone:

“They need a [new] striker although it looks like Jackson is really good, he is still young and has to learn. I don’t know if he is going to score enough goals for Chelsea to help them win the Premier League one day.”

“To win the Premier League, your striker needs to reach around 20-25 goals and I don’t think Jackson will do it, even though I think he is a really good young player who you can see his qualities.”

Gallas’s remarks were in stark contrast to manager Mauricio Pochettino who has boldly predicted that Jackson has the “potential to be one of the great Premier League strikers”.

Jackson is a work in progress

Pochettino has already gone back on his words somewhat following the 1-0 home defeat to Nottingham Forest at the weekend.

After Jackson missed a sitter from close range, Pochettino admitted after the match that the 22-year-old still needed “time to adapt to the Premier League.”

Since making the £32m move from Villarreal, the striker has scored just once in 5 appearances, so it’s probably wise that supporters keep their expectations in check.

Chelsea are a long way from being title contenders

Jackson’s performances are pretty symptomatic of the team in general. Young players will have good and bad games, and inconsistency is to be expected.

The Blues have bought a lot of potential over the past three transfer windows and it may take some time for the investment to bear fruit on the pitch in terms of results.