Chelsea star warned to improve his performance or risk losing his spot in Maresca’s squad by Premier League legend William Gallas: ‘He needs to do better. He needs to be ruthless because there are a lot of good strikers that Chelsea can replace him with. Also Nkunku would easily replace him. He needs to target at least 20 goals this season at least’

William Gallas has urged Chelsea striker Nicolas Jackson to become a more clinical goalscorer or risk losing his starting spot to Christopher Nkunku.

Jackson made a strong impression after joining from Villarreal last season, scoring 17 goals and providing six assists in 44 appearances across all competitions, including 14 goals and five assists in the Premier League.

This season, he has maintained his form with four goals and three assists in seven Premier League matches. Gallas insists Jackson should aim for “20 goals this season” to secure his place in the lineup.

However, Jackson has squandered 29 “big chances” in the Premier League since last season, second only to Erling Haaland, who has missed 37 but scored 19 more goals in the same period. If Jackson’s form dips, Christopher Nkunku, who has recovered from knee and hamstring injuries and already netted seven goals across all competitions this season despite limited playing time, is ready to step in.

Gallas believes Jackson needs to be more clinical to convince Maresca he deserves to keep his starting role. “Enzo Maresca knows what he’s doing with Christopher Nkunku and Nicolas Jackson, creating competition so both players must perform at their best to stay in the lineup,” Gallas told Prime Casino.

“They both want to start and have shown they can score. If one stops scoring, the other will take over. Jackson should aim for 20 goals this season after netting 14 last year. He must keep improving because he knows he’s in competition with Nkunku.”

Gallas added, “Jackson has gotten better, but he needs to do more. If he gets three or four good chances, he should be scoring at least two. Right now, he needs five chances to score a goal.”