Chelsea sending Nicolas Jackson on loan to Atletico Madrid could pave the way for Julian Alvarez to leave the Spanish side for Arsenal.
According to the Metro, "Atletico Madrid are finalising a deal to sign Chelsea striker Nicolas Jackson on loan."
Jackson was on loan at Bayern Munich last season, but they did not sign him permanently. Xabi Alonso was not going to give Jackson a fresh start, as they are already stacked with centre-forward options.
Chelsea's first-choice striker is the highly rated Joao Pedro. They also signed the experienced Danny Welbeck from Brighton & Hove Albion this summer. The Blues also still have Liam Delap, but many fans want to see the back of him after he flopped after signing from Ipswich Town.
Marc Guiu is also on Chelsea's books, and so are David Datro Fofana and Emmanuel Emegha. Fofana returned from his loan at Strasbourg, whilst Emegha signed from the French sister club of the Blues.
Jackson did not have a bad record for Bayern despite being Harry Kane's understudy at the club. The Senegal international scored 11 goals with four assists in 34 games for the Bundesliga side. Jackson had also been linked with Besiktas, Tottenham Hotspur, Aston Villa and Napoli this transfer window.
The striker joined Chelsea from Villarreal in 2023 and signed a 10-year deal at the club. It is diffuclt for any club to buy him out of this long-term contract. This is why the Blues are set to loan him out once more.
Chelsea would not want to inadvertently help Arsenal
Returning to La Liga, where he scored 12 goals in 35 games for Villarreal, could be a smart move for Jackson. His signing could convince Atletico to let Alvarez leave the club. The Argentine wants to leave for Barcelona. However, the team from Spain's capital is reluctant to sell him to a La Liga rival.
Atletico would rather sell him to Arsenal, but the player much prefers to go to Barca. Alvarez left Manchester City because he was not getting as much game time as he would have wanted, as they had Erling Haaland.
The Argentine has shown what he can do at Atletico, scoring 54 goals with 31 assists in 122 games. Due to speculation about his future, Alvarez was not included as Atletico beat Malaga in their first La Liga game of the season on Wednesday night.
Barca needs a new striker after letting Ferran Torres join Paris Saint-Germain. Alvarez has also been linked with PSG, but a move there appears slim now that they have Torres. Real Madrid was also mentioned as a possible destination, but Atletico would not want to do business with their city rivals.
Alvarez was also linked with Chelsea, Manchester United, as well as Arsenal. There have also been recent reports that Barca have turned their attention to Lautaro Martinez of Inter Milan after giving up on the prospect of signing Alvarez.
The Argentine forward would cost Arsenal in excess of £120 million, which is a vast sum. They balked at spending a similar amount on Morgan Rogers, so he eventually joined Chelsea for £117 million.
Arsenal were linked with Vinicius Junior earlier in the transfer window. However, it appeared that the Brazilian was using the Gunners to get a better deal at Real Madrid. Signing Alvarez would be a statement for the Premier League champions.
The Gunners already have Viktor Gyokeres, but he has so far not lived up to expectations at the Emirates. Mikel Arteta also favours the collective rather than big egos. Alvarez is showing that he is quite big-time by holding out for this move to Barca. Therefore, he may not be the right fit for the Gunners.
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