The evidence is mounting that Chelsea gave up on Nicolas Jackson way too soon, but their loss is Aston Villa's gain.

The Senegal striker is currently in fine goalscoring fettle. After a lethargic start to the season, Jackson exploded in September and has now bagged eight goals over the past two months.

After notching a stunning brace versus then-league leaders Man City two weeks ago, the 25-year-old added to his tally against Fulham on Saturday. Five of his goals have come in the Premier League; only Erling Haaland (nine) and Alexander Isak (six) have scored more.

Jackson's joined Villa from Chelsea for an initial €55 million in the summer. This deal can rise to a whopping €76m through bonuses, and combined with the hefty €16.5m loan fee they received from Bayern last term, the Blues could bank an incredible profit of €55.5m when all is said and done.

At the time, this looked like an incredible piece of business from the West London outfit, but Jackson's positive development in recent weeks is making things less clear-cut. Did Chelsea give up on the striker too soon?

Jackson's "incredible talent"

In the summer, FootballTransfers warned that Chelsea were in the process of selling their best player without even realising it. Data analytics firm SciSports ranked Jackson as the Blues' most capable player despite his shortcomings.

Chelsea boss Enzo Maresca lost faith in Jackson in 2025 due to his erratic finishing and indiscipline, and he was officially deemed surplus to requirements that summer and pushed out of the club.

That was despite the fact that the data suggested that Jackson was an elite No.9 in pretty much every metric except the one that mattered most: goals. Keeping the faith and helping him refine his game could have paid off handsomely, but Chelsea preferred to move on.

It is no surprise that the 25-year-old eventually ended up at Aston Villa. It was Unai Emery under whom he got his big break at Villarreal, which prompted Chelsea to sign him in the first place in 2023.

And it increasingly looks as though Emery has managed to achieve (again) in a few weeks what Chelsea failed to do in two years: unlock Jackson's full potential. It's early days, but the Senegal international seems to have taken a massive step forward in Birmingham.

There might eventually be a feeling of regret at Chelsea that they didn't keep their faith in him. His talent was evident at Stamford Bridge. In fact, it was already abundantly clear during his time in Spain.

At least that's according to Miguel Alvarez, who coached Villarreal's reserve team for almost a decade. Speaking to Mundo Deportivo, Jackson's former coach insisted that the Villa ace has always had "incredible talent."

After an unsuccessful loan at Mirandes, Jackson was given a run out in Villarreal's third-division B team, which proved to be a turning point for him. "He had suffered injuries, needed an adaptation period, and the following year we had him in the Primera RFEF squad," Alvarez recalled.

"We tried to help him understand what he needed to get closer to professional football. At Mirandes they used him more on the wing, and in our 4-4-2 diamond formation we played him as a second striker.

"He continued to have muscle injuries, and playing centrally was less demanding. Playing out wide was a waste of his talent, and I think we made the right move so he could shine more. He did. He's very strong mentally.

"We had a very good relationship," Alvarez added before noting the impact of the other coaches at Villarreal: "Unai Emery and Quique Setien helped him a lot." Jackson could have left for Bournemouth shortly after his breakthrough, but the transfer didn't go through.

"He took a big leap with Unai and another with Setien, playing many matches after his almost-completed transfer to Bournemouth fell through, something that wasn't easy for such a young player to handle. And in the end, they sold him a year later for more money.

"Four years ago, he already had incredible talent, not only on the pitch, but also off the ball. But he needed to adapt to a work ethic like that of Villarreal's youth academy and the first team with Unai and his assistant Rodri."

The 68-year-old is proud of the part he played in Jackson's development. "He's always had an eye for goal, but his finishing and technique have improved," Alvarez explained.

"His physical attributes are incredible, and that's in addition to the emotional aspect of always playing, like at Aston Villa. In Munich, he had a Ballon d'Or winner like [Harry] Kane ahead of him.

"He's very dangerous in the middle and makes runs into space, with well-executed moves looking to get behind the centre-backs. Speed ​​is great, but if you don't take advantage of those qualities, it's useless.

"It has to be controlled, and you have to know when to break. Now he understands the attacking game very well, and despite being tall, he's very fast."