"He has the talent to do it" - Kalidou Koulibaly believes Chelsea star could win the Ballon d'Or in the future

Al-Hilal centre-back Kalidou Koulibaly has tipped international teammate and Chelsea striker Nicolas Jackson, 23, to win the Ballon d’Or in the future. Koulibaly stated that Jackson is still young and that he has what it takes to win the coveted award.

Nicolas Jackson has enjoyed a brilliant start to the 2024/25 season at Chelsea, scoring six goals and providing three assists in 10 outings across competitions. Last season, the 23-year-old came under fire for his profligate display in front of goal, but he has silenced his critics this season.

Koulibaly, who spent the 2022/23 season at Stamford Bridge, believes his compatriot could win the Ballon d’Or in the future. He told talkSPORT:

"For me, Nicolas can be a very good player. He is still young, everybody was wanting more from him last year but they forget that he is a young player. With Edouard Mendy, we speak a lot with him because we know it is difficult when you arrive from Villarreal to a big club like Chelsea. Nicolas Jackson for me is a player who could be very good, a very nice player. At Chelsea the demand is really high. They want a lot of goals, a lot of assists, to be a very good player from the beginning. But we know Nicolas can be very good."

The Senegalese international added:

"It will be very important to let the time speak because he showed it from the beginning. He has already scored seven goals -this is really good for a player like him and I hope that he will continue to score. We know that for a striker, their life is the goals and he knows it. He has a good attitude, he has a good personality, which is important in a club like Chelsea. And for me he will make the story of Senegal, I am telling him all the time, like Sadio Mane did it."

"He has the talent to do it (win the Ballon d'Or) and I hope he will be part of the best players in Africa and why not in the world. I try to give him advice but he has all the talent in his feet to do it and I hope that he will."

Koulibaly and Jackson have shared the pitch for Senegal on 15 occasions.

Gianfranco Zola backs Chelsea star to win the Ballon d’Or in the future

Chelsea legend Gianfranco Zola believes that Cole Palmer can be a future Ballon d’Or winner. After Chelsea’s 2-1 victory against Newcastle United in the Premier League on October 27, Zola pointed out the areas of his game Palmer needs to work on.

Cole Palmer was the Man of the Match in his side’s home victory against the Magpies on Sunday. The 22-year-old produced a magnificent pass in the first half, which culminated in a goal from Nicolas Jackson.

Palmer got himself on the scoresheet two minutes after the restart as he drove an effort inside Pope’s near post. Talking about his performance, Zola told Mirror:

"He needs to work a lot on his game, of course, because he is still young and there are things that can make him better. One thing for sure he can work on is his physique. He can get a little bit faster and maybe a little bit stronger in one-on-ones. I know his mind is very quick. He will have to get his body a little bit quicker. But seeing him when he first played for Chelsea and seeing him now, I can see how much ground he has covered, I can see him also covering other ground."

"And if he does that, he can be in contention for the Ballon D’Or because the numbers and the skills are there. There is still work to do but potentially he can do that. He has a very, very good coach to work with in Maresca and I am he will make sure he works on that.”