Nicolas Jackson has completed his move to Aston Villa from Chelsea for a fee understood by the Press Association to be worth a club-record £65 million ($85 million), signing a five-year deal.
The move reunites the striker with manager Unai Emery, under whom he worked when they were together at La Liga side Villarreal. The former Bayern Munich loanee is a replacement for Ollie Watkins, who is set to head to Saudi Arabia's Al Hilal.
Emery confirmed the 25-year-old’s imminent arrival during his press conference on Friday to preview Monday’s game against Arsenal, with the club announcing the deal several hours later.
Senegal's Jackson had been training separately from Chelsea manager Xabi Alonso’s main squad having been told he was not in the Spaniard’s plans for the season.
He leaves Chelsea having scored 30 goals in 81 appearances in all competitions since moving to Stamford Bridge in 2023, helping the club win the Conference League and Club World Cup.
He was first frozen out by former manager Enzo Maresca before making a highly protracted loan move to Bayern last August. The deal included conditions that ultimately went unmet for a permanent transfer.
Watkins’ impending departure, which was also confirmed by Emery, means he will follow Ezri Konsa, Morgan Rogers, Youri Tielemans and Lucas Digne out of Villa Park.
The 30-year-old, who is the club’s top Premier League goalscorer and helped them to Europa League glory last season, refused to play in last weekend’s Premier League opener at Brighton, which Villa lost 4-0.
That angered the fans and he subsequently apologized to Emery and his team-mates, but the manager insisted his legacy is intact.
He said: “I can tell you his commitment and his behaviour was fantastic.
“We didn’t get a deal to finish his last match playing at Brighton, but he told us after the match he was sorry, and he told us as well he made a mistake.
“Now it’s a new chapter here with Nicolas Jackson.”
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