"Works very hard both going forward and working defensively" - Leboeuf says Chelsea star reminds him of Liverpool forward Darwin Nunez

Former Chelsea defender Frank Leboeuf has compared Nicolas Jackson to Liverpool forward Darwin Nunez. The former France international said the Senegalese forward reminds him of the Uruguayan who struggled to find his feet during his early days at Anfield.

Liverpool paid a club-record £85 million for Nunez in 2022 after a breakthrough season with Benfica. The 25-year-old struggled in his first season in England and was heavily criticized. However, he upped his game in the 2023-24 season, registering an impressive 18 goals and 13 assists in 54 appearances across competitions for the Reds.

Similarly, Jackson faced heavy criticism in his debut season (2023-24) at Chelsea. Despite recording 17 goals and six assists in 44 games across competitions, he was criticized for missing sitters and going long spells without scoring.

However, Leboeuf believes that the former Villarreal forward will come good for Chelsea in the future, just like Nunez. He said (via Dazn) that both players are the kind of strikers who can be clumsy but give their all to the club:

"When I see Jackson he reminds me of Darwin Nunez, who struggled at Liverpool but stepped up when Mohamed Salah went to AFCON. They are the type of player who can be very clumsy but give their best for the club."

Leboeuf encouraged Jackson to keep working hard, highlighting that the Chelsea star works hard both in attack and defense. He said:

"I would encourage Nicolas Jackson to keep on working hard because we can say you can, you can see that every game that he plays he works very hard both going forward and working defensively."

Leboeuf added that although the player's primary task is to find the net, he contributes to other aspects of the game for the Blues.

"Of course he is a striker so he needs to score. But I see other things that people will only want to see statistics won’t realize."

Chelsea signed Jackson from Villarreal last summer for a reported fee of €37 million.

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Latest update on Chelsea's interest in Victor Osimhen

According to transfer expert Fabrizio Romano, Chelsea are talking with Napoli about a possible switch deal for Victor Osimhen. The Nigerian forward is keen on a move away from Italy. The Blues could offer out-of-favor striker Romelu Lukaku to the Naples-based club in exchange for Osimhen.

Paris Saint Germain (PSG) were earlier reported to have agreed terms with Osimhen for a move to France. However, talks between PSG and Napoli have stalled and the Blues are now front-runners in the deal.

Osimhen is one of the highly-rated forwards in Europe. Two seasons ago, he propelled Napoli to a historic Serie A title, scoring 26 goals and providing five assists in 32 league games.