Chelsea striker tells club legend to keep mouth shut following criticism

Jackson scored the opening goal for Chelsea against Wolves just 98 seconds into the game on Sunday. He also set Cole Palmer up for the second goal as Chelsea won 6-2.

This performance came just a week after Mikel criticized Jackson after his poor form in the 0-2 loss to Manchester City. The former Nigerian midfielder said Jackson is not at the level that Chelsea need.

“You need a striker who knows how to hit a ball in the back of the net and that’s what we don’t have,” Mikel told Bein Sports. “I know I talk so much about him and sometimes I sound like I disrespect him. I don’t disrespect him. I think at Chelsea Football Club we need a top striker who can get us a goal.”

Nicolas Jackson of Chelsea celebrates his side’s first goal during the Premier League match between Wolverhampton Wanderers and Chelsea at Molineux in England, on August 25, 2024. Photo by MI News/NurPhoto/Gustavo Pantano via AFP

After his good display against Wolves, Jackson hit back at Mikel on social media. He tagged Mikel in an Instagram story and wrote: “Shut your mouth, don’t talk sh*t, we are killing ourself for Africa.”

On Monday, Mikel responded to Jackson as he stood by his criticism, adding that he’ll gladly shut up if the Senegalese striker scores every week for Chelsea.

“I really like the guy. There’s something there as a football player, but he’s still raw,” Mikel said on talkSPORT. “The finishing part of his game needs to be worked on. I haven’t said he’s a bad player at all. I’ve just said his finishing quality is not there yet. He’s still young and needs someone to come in and help him. If he scores every week and tells me to shut up I’ll take that.”

Jackson joined Chelsea in the summer of 2023 from Villareal for $41 million. In his first season, the 23-year-old striker scored 17 goals in 44 matches, becoming Chelsea’s second-highest goalscorer. Palmer was the top scorer with 25 goals.

In the past year, if penalties are excluded, Jackson has scored more goals for the club than Palmer (Chelsea), Kai Havertz (Arsenal) and Mohamed Salah (Liverpool).

Mikel played for Chelsea from 2006 to 2017. The former Nigerian midfielder won two Premier Leagues, four FA Cups, two League Cups, one Community Shield, one Champions League and one Europa League with the club.