October 24, 2026
Senegalese striker Nicholas Jackson continued his remarkable brilliance with Aston Villa, leading them to achieve a valuable victory over Manchester City by two goals to one, on Saturday, in the English Premier League. Jackson scored his team’s two goals with the only two shots that hit the three goals throughout the match, confirming his exceptional start with the team.
Jackson (25 years old) joined Aston Villa from Chelsea in a deal worth about 65 million pounds, to be a direct replacement for English striker Ollie Watkins, who moved to the Saudi Al Hilal last August after a busy career during which he scored 91 goals in 221 league matches. Jackson quickly proved his worth by scoring seven goals in his first 11 matches with his new team, contributing to the team’s lead in the Champions League and improving its results locally.
In statements to the “Match of the Day” program on the BBC, Jackson expressed his great happiness with the atmosphere inside the club, saying: “The players, the coach and the team, everything is wonderful. I am happy to be here and I hope we can achieve amazing things together.”
In terms of numbers, Jackson’s current start with Aston Villa is significantly superior to his period with Chelsea (2023-2025), which included a loan period to Bayern Munich. While he scored 24 goals in 65 league matches with the “Blues” at a goal rate every 210 minutes, he raised his average with Villa to a goal every 138 minutes (4 goals in 7 matches), exceeding his expected tally by two goals and overcoming the crisis of wasted opportunities that he had always faced previously.
In this context, former Aston Villa and England national team defender, Martin Keown, praised the Senegalese striker, saying: “I think he is better than Ollie Watkins. He is more capable of snatching goals, and has speed that annoys top defenders, and it seems like a successful deal by all standards.”
This victory coincided with the fourth anniversary of Spanish coach Unai Emery assuming leadership of the Aston Villa coaching staff, a period that witnessed a qualitative leap for the team and its stability in the advanced positions on the continent and locally. It should be noted that Emery previously trained Jackson at Villarreal, Spain, and said about him: “I knew him at Villarreal, and there he started playing at the level he is doing now. I know his ability and humility,” while the player stressed the difficulty of adapting without the support of the coach and his teammates in the locker room.
