Mauricio Pochettino has given an insight into why Nicolas Jackson has struggled in front of goal in his first few games at Chelsea.
Jackson was one of the many (many) signings made by Chelsea during the 2023 summer transfer window, joining the club for a reported £32m from Villarreal back in June.
The forward thoroughly impressed during pre-season, bagging two goals and three assists, but has found goal contributions harder to come by since the 2023/24 Premier League campaign kicked off. Jackson has managed just one goal - against lowly Luton Town - and spurned a whole host of chances in Chelsea's eventual defeat to Nottingham Forest at the weekend.
The most egregious miss of all proved to be what was essentially an open net from three yards out after being brilliantly found by Raheem Sterling.
Speaking about Jackson's performances after the game, Pochettino admitted that he thought the forward "a little bit rushed" in his decision making and finishing.
"I think in the future we will be talking differently. He needs time to adapt to the Premier League. He is doing a fantastic job but scoring is not easy," the boss said. "He is a little bit rushed in his decisions. He needs to be a little bit more calm and relaxed and for sure he is going to score goals."
Pochettino also took the time to discuss Chelsea's general poor form at the start of the season. To date, the new manager has won just one Premier League, with his team already losing to both West Ham and Nottingham Forest:
"When you lose a game, the things that are negative appear [but] you know a process like this is always ups and down.
"We have a very young squad. We need to prove we can score and we can deal with the situation. Of course, we need to be more clinical in front of the goal and not make the same mistake like today when we concede the chance to Nottingham."
