Enzo Maresca has had no trouble integrating his methods at Chelsea, currently on a seven-game unbeaten streak, and sitting fourth in the Premier League.
Since joining the club, the Italian has opted for his 4-3-3 / 4-2-3-1 starting shape, which looks to shift into a 3-2-5 shape in possession, with one of the full-backs inverting alongside the defensive midfielder. This has often been Malo Gusto so far this season.
This change has allowed Cole Palmer to attain a permanent central spot in the team, playing as the number ten, as opposed to the right-wing position he often played last term. The England international has started in red-hot form, scoring six and providing five assists in nine appearances, and 645 minutes.
But Nicolas Jackson is another player who has started well under Maresca, solidifying his starting centre-forward spot for the Blues, despite Chelsea looking at striker options in the summer.
Nicolas Jackson's time at Chelsea
Chelsea signed Jackson from Villarreal in the summer of 2023, paying slightly more than his £30.1m release clause, signing an eight-year deal at the London club. In his debut year for the Blues, the 23-year-old scored 17 goals and provided six assists in his 44 appearances.
For context, this was more Premier League goal contributions than Chelsea legend, Didier Drogba managed in his first season, making 26 appearances, scoring ten goals and providing five assists. However, the following campaign, Drogba netted 16 goals and provided 16 assists in all competitions, helping Chelsea to a Premier League title.
Of course, this comes with some pressure for Jackson now but he has started 2024/25 as he means to go on. The 23-year-old has made eight appearances for the Blues, scoring four goals and providing three assists in 555 minutes played.
Jackson has started all seven Premier League games for Maresca so far, despite the goalscoring form of Christopher Nkunku, who already has seven goals in 11 appearances, managing 430 minutes so far.
This shows the faith the new Chelsea manager has in the Senegal international, and Jackson will want to continue to repay that faith with goal contributions, along with his link-up play and work rate.
If Jackson can continue to add to his 21 goals and nine assists in 52 outings, then they will have a gem on their hands. However, Chelsea could be interested in another striker addition in January, who is currently smashing it in the Bundesliga.
Chelsea looking at new striker
According to reports from CaughtOffside, Chelsea are among the interested clubs in Frankfurt forward, Omar Marmoush.
The fee it would cost is believed to be around €40m (£33.5m) according to the reports. The 25-year-old has scored nine goals in nine appearances for the German outfit, also providing four assists in 747 minutes played.
The Egyptian has been labelled a “late bloomer” and “electric” by Sky Sports’ Dougie Critchley, praising his versatility as a forward who can play as a striker, a number ten, or even from the left.
Marmoush has now made 50 appearances in all competitions for Frankfurt since joining the club in 2023, scoring 26 goals and providing 12 assists in 3,892 minutes played. The 25-year-old has also played for Wolfsburg, St Pauli (on loan), and Stuttgart (on loan), having come through the Wadi Degla academy, and Egyptian second-division team.
Frankfurt’s number seven has been showing his ability to impact games, with some lovely 1v1 finishes, lovely ball manipulation in the box to create half a yard for himself, and blistering pace on the break to help get his side forward, creating for both himself, but also his teammates.
Marmoush is now outscoring Harry Kane in the Bundesliga this season, and if Chelsea went after him, where would that leave the in-form Jackson?
Marmoush vs Jackson comparison
The first thing to compare is the two player profiles here. Jackson is 22-years-old, has a 6 foot 1 frame, is a very wirey runner, and was developed in the academy as a left-winger, and therefore possesses some winger-like traits, such as his dribbling.
Comparatively, Marmoush is 25-years-old, is 6 foot, and as mentioned earlier, is considered something of a late bloomer.
FBref’s “similar players” feature actually notes that Jackson is one of Marmoush’s top most similar players which tells you their styles aren’t too dissimilar, both liking to run the channels, use their pace and power in transition, and can manipulate the ball in tight spaces.
Goals
1.08
0.69
Assists
0.72
0.52
xG
0.82
0.90
Progressive Carries
3.89
2.59
Progressive Passes
2.36
1.55
Shots Total
4.46
3.28
Shots on Target
1.93
1.72
Goals/shot
0.19
0.21
Shot-Creating Actions
5.97
2.59
Att Pen Touches
7.08
5.86
Aerials Won
0.56
0.52
You can see from these metrics, even though Jackson is having a strong start to the season, Marmoush is on another level right now, scoring over a goal per 90 with 1.08, also assisting 0.72 goals per 90, whilst actually generating fewer xG than Jackson.
Expected Goals (xG) is a metric designed to measure the probability of a shot resulting in a goal.
His shot volume is high, taking 4.46 per 90, and getting 1.93 of these on target, but this does affect his goals/shot ratio slightly, as he scores at a rate of 0.19, which is 0.02 fewer than Jackson’s 0.21 goals/shot ratio.
But Marmoush isn’t just a clinical box finisher, he also has 5.97 shot-creating actions per 90, showing that ball manipulation ability we mentioned earlier, and how he can use it to create shots for himself, but also for others. This is matched by his 3.89 progressive carries and 2.36 progressive passes, which allow him to drive his team forward, something Jackson does very well too.
The dynamic of having both Jackson and Marmoush competing for that striker spot would be very interesting for Chelsea, maybe even pushing each other to get even better, or even playing so well, that you could play one of them from the left-wing, and transform the Chelsea attacking unit.
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