Chelsea name staggering nine-figure asking price for Nicolas Jackson

Nicolas Jackson's future at Chelsea remains unclear after the Blues signed Joao Pedro and Liam Delap, which appears to have pushed the Senegal star down the pecking order at Stamford Bridge

Chelsea are demanding an eye-watering £100million for Nicolas Jackson amid rumours the Senegal international could leave Stamford Bridge this summer.

Jackson arrived from Villarreal for around £32million in 2023 but has divided supporters after some mixed displays in front of goal for Chelsea.

Despite criticism aimed at him, he still managed to score 17 goals in his first season and 13 goals in the last campaign for a total of 30 strikes in 81 games.

But the arrivals of Liam Delap from Ipswich and Joao Pedro from Brighton have led to doubts over whether Jackson will keep his place in the team.

According to the Daily Mail, Jackson is on AC Milan's six-man shortlist of players, with the Serie A side "confident" they can snap him up this summer.

Jackson now fears he has "lost the trust of manager Enzo Maresca", having been named on the bench for their 2-0 Club World Cup semi-final win over Fluminense - while new signing Joao Pedro netted a brace.

The report goes on to say that the Blues are in "no rush" to offload Jackson, and have slapped a huge price tag on him of £100m - despite his lack of goals since the turn of the year.

Jackson has only four strikes to his name since January and has been sent off in two of his last six games for Chelsea.

AC Milan are looking for extra firepower up front after Tammy Abraham returned to Roma after his season-long loan, while Luka Jovic has been released.

The Mail's report adds that they have been encouraged that Jackson could be tempted into a move, but they could be put off Chelsea's massive asking price.

After being left out of the semi-final against Fluminense - following his red card against Flamengo earlier in the tournament, ex-Chelsea star John Obi Mikel said: "I think that sends a massive message to Jackson."

Mikel was previously critical of the forward over his dismissal against Flamengo and slammed him over the "stupid, stupid, stupid mistake".

'I don't know what was going through his head. You come into the game, you are 2-1 down at that point. Your team needs you. And he does that."