It has been a curious summer for Aston Villa so far. Unai Emery’s side have not brought in many first-team players aside from Evann Guessand.
The Ivorian striker joined the club from French side Nice for a fee of £30m, but forgetting deal, the Villans have been quiet as far as marquee additions are concerned.
There have been departures, with Jacob Ramsey moving to Newcastle United and Leon Bailey switching to Roma.
Next to leave could be star striker Ollie Watkins. The England international is said to be a key target for the Magpies, who Villa faced last weekend.
Well, whatever the future is of the former Brentford star, it seems as though Villa will look to sign another striker of their own.
Aston Villa's latest striker target
It will be interesting to see if the Villans can keep hold of Watkins this summer. The forward has been linked with a move away for several weeks, and with Newcastle sniffing around, another departure could be on the cards.
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Regardless of his future, a report from Sky Sports has revealed that Villa have ‘explored the conditions of a deal’ to sign Nicolas Jackson from Chelsea.
The Senegalese attacker informed the Blues that ‘he wants to consider his options during the transfer window’, and Villa could now pounce.
At this stage, it is unclear if this deal would be a loan or a permanent move, but with Chelsea still targeting more summer transfers, they may need to sell Jackson to raise funds.
That could mean Villa have to pay his £80m price tag, a fee that was reported last month.
Why Jackson would be a good signing
There is a case to be made that Jackson is one of the Premier League’s most polarising players. Yet, people like football scout Antonio Mango have highly praised him in the past, describing him as an “elite” forward.
Indeed, his numbers from his time as a Chelsea player show great promise. The former Villarreal striker has played 81 games for the West Londoners, scoring 30 times and assisting a further 12.
He also has a knack for scoring in big games, which would surely pique Villa’s interest. The forward has bagged against Liverpool, Manchester City, Tottenham Hotspur and, of course, in the 2025 Conference League final. That header against Real Betis showed some of the “elite” centre-forward play that Mango referenced.
Of course, stepping into Watkins’ shoes at Villa Park would not be an easy thing for the Chelsea striker.
With 75 goals to his name in the Premier League, no Villa player has ever bagged more, according to Transfermarkt.
The five full seasons he has spent at Villa have been impressive for the England international. He’s hit double-figure goals in the Premier League every season, with the most he has scored in one season being 2023/24, where he bagged 19 times in the top flight.
The underlying numbers from last season suggest Jackson could be Emery’s new Watkins. The pair are said to be statistically similar in 2024/25, via FBref, with the Chelsea star averaging 0.61 goals and assists and 1.13 key passes per 90 minutes, and Watkins notching up 0.83 goals and assists and 0.83 key passes each game.
Goals and assists
0.61
0.83
Key passes
1.13
0.83
Shot-creating actions
2.80
1.84
Progressive carries
1.90
1.90
Ball recoveries
1.94
1.49
Aside from the underlying numbers, the two players both share a key attribute: their ability to run in behind.
This is something Watkins himself described as his “bread and butter” after his Euro 2024 semi-final winner against the Netherlands. Sky Sports analyst Nick Wright said one of Jackson’s key strengths is that he can “stretch defences” and make runs beyond the defence.
So, there is certainly evidence to suggest that this is a deal that works for Villa. Emery has, of course, coached Jackson before at Villarreal and knows the exact profile he would like for his side, which Jackson seems to fill. £80m is a big investment, but it could be a wise move for the Villans.
