Peter Crouch backs Nicolas Jackson to end goal drought, Joe Cole says Chelsea will 'always be looking' to improve up top
Published 20/01/2025 at 15:28 GMT
TNT Sports experts Peter Crouch and Joe Cole praised Nicolas Jackson, backing the Chelsea striker to find his scoring boots amid his side's dip in form. After surprising everyone with their form at the start of the season, Chelsea have failed to find a win in their last three Premier League games, with Jackson failing to find the net since mid-December.
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Peter Crouch has backed Chelsea's Nicolas Jackson to bounce back from his recent goal drought as the club prepares to face Premier League strugglers Wolves.
After a strong start to the campaign, Jackson has failed to find the net in his last five matches - and has yet to record a goal since the turn of the year.
But TNT Sports experts Joe Cole and Crouch backed the striker to turn it around, with Crouch drawing on his own experience of suffering through goal droughts in his career.
"I found it difficult," the former England forward said. "It's the worst part of a striker's game, when you're not scoring goals you start questioning everything about your game, and you start overthinking things. I think in training I probably did too much finishing, if anything.
"It's the worst part of being a striker, when you're not scoring. But he's a top player, I think he's really turned people's opinions around this year."
Jackson's debut season at Stamford Bridge saw him score 17 goals in all competitions despite being routinely criticised for his finishing.
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But the first half of this season saw the 23-year-old showcase a prolific edge in the final third, notching six goals in Chelsea's first nine games during a storming start under Enzo Maresca.
"Last year he was almost like a figure of fun sometimes with the chances he missed," Crouch continued. "I think he's been more ruthless this year.
"I think he's looked sharper and I think he leads the line well. He'll definitely be back, he's a top player."
Cole noted that aside from his finishing, Jackson's all-round play and ability to bring others - namely Cole Palmer - into the game has been impressive.
Despite failing to score in his side's 2-2 draw against Bournemouth in the week, the striker delivered a teasing ball for Palmer to bury his opening goal on Tuesday.
"Nicolas Jackson [as an] all-round centre forward is fantastic," Cole exclaimed. "I think the one area he needs to brush up on is to clean up his finishing.
"He's slowly improving and it's not something that happens overnight with players. It can happen slowly.
"He was brilliant the other night against Bournemouth, a beautiful pass into Cole Palmer for the goal. He missed a couple of chances but he was a threat.
"He just needs to keep working and keep improving. But in that area of the pitch when you're at a top club, they'll always be looking.
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"Chelsea will always be looking at every area of the pitch to improve and if someone becomes available that fits the remit of what they want, the owners have shown that they will go and get them."
Having surprised everyone with their form in the first half of the season, a recent dip in performances has seen Chelsea slip down to fifth in the table.
After ending 2024 with a 2-0 loss to Ipswich, they laboured through draws against both Crystal Palace and Bournemouth, and Cole believes the players' inexperience is starting to show.
"I think it's a little bit of inexperience," the former Chelsea star said. "This time of the year is always crucial, the Christmas period and December and coming out of it.
"The weather is not good, the games come thick and fast, and if you're not at it and not in good form you can really fall away.
"I think it's just a little bit of experience, I've been saying that from the start. If you sprinkle a little bit of experience in that squad you probably get better results."
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