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Nicolas Jackson is proving himself as one of the Premier League's top strikers as he continues his remarkable rise to stardom. While many fans will be admiring the finished article who has bagged eight goals in 14 games for Chelsea this term, it was at La Liga side Villarreal where the 23-year-old first showed his undoubted qualities. Joining the club in September 2019 from Senegalese side Casa Sports, the striker went straight into the La Liga side's famed youth system that has produced stars including Santi Cazorla, Rodri, Pau Torres and Filip Jorgensen among others. One of his former teammates is current Villarreal star and vice-captain Alex Baena who is already one of the Spanish top flight's biggest stars. Speaking to talk SPORT. com about Jackson, he recalled: "We were together for three or four years here at Villarreal. “He's a fantastic guy, a great person. We've had a great connection off the pitch. On the pitch, he's always asked to improve his quality to be able to associate with his teammates. “I think he's improved a lot this year. He's improved his ball control and his connection with his teammates. “He's got a great potential and he's been showing it this year. He's scored a lot of goals. ” One man who knew Jackson better than most in his formative years is Villarreal director of football, Miguel Angel Tena. Tena, who played for Villarreal before becoming a coach in their famous youth set-up, managed the striker after he joined the club and nothing but positive things to say about him. Tena told talk SPORT. com: "I have a special affection because when Jackson landed at Villarreal, I was a coach at that time, in the under-18 category. “So, I was his coach, I was able to know all that period of adaptation of his arrival at Villarreal. I had the pleasure of being able to train him. “Jackson is an exceptional boy, a great person with very important human values. From there, everyone saw in the club that his development and his process was more accelerated than that of a player with the age that Jackson arrived at the club. " After showing his qualities for Villarreal B, the decision was made to allow him to join Spanish second division side Mirandes - a decision Tena believes was the making of him. He explained: "There was a moment where, before having that step to professional football, we decided that the best option for him was to leave to a second division team, because we still understood that he was not prepared for the requirements of the first team. “I think it was a success, because that made him mature, to go to a club like Mirandés, where he was able to leave Villarreal. "He was able to mature, he was able to live with professionals in a club with a different structure to Villarreal. “It helped him a lot because when he returned to Villarreal, he had a great season, he helped us a lot to get the promotion to the second division, to professional football. “At that moment, Unai Emery, who was the coach, decided that it was time to bet on him and that he could have the opportunity to play for the first team. “He alone - based on his work, his perseverance, his effort - he managed to score some very important goals in the first division with us and he aroused the interest of big clubs, in this case, of Chelsea, who made the decision to buy Jackson. " They were the traits the eventually led to his exit. After scoring 13 goals in 48 games for Villarreal, Chelsea had seen enough and struck a £32million deal to sign Jackson in the summer of 2023. While developing the reputation of being a selling club would be a frustration for many, Villarreal see it as a compliment for their primary mission of developing young players. Tena explained: “For us it's a great honour that so many European clubs are interested in some of our players. That means that we have good players and that they can be in another team and in another competition. “We think that as long as we have them with us we try to enjoy them, we take care of them as much as possible so that they can spend a lot of time with us. “We're not thinking about them leaving. But if they do leave at some point, because it's football and everyone wants to improve on a salary level, and also on a sporting level, we're delighted that they can leave as well. "Any player who has trained at Villarreal or is in the first squad of the Villarreal and leaves to play in Italy, England, Germany or wherever, it generates a lot of prestige for us because those clubs sign a good player from Villarreal and that's also a way for us to have an alliance with all the European clubs. “It's the law of football. If that situation happens, we're working on it. like every season, we're working on it, analysing the market to make the best decisions and be prepared in case that situation happens. ” On Jackson, Pena added: "When we understand that a footballer has completed a cycle in Villarreal - in this case Chelsea who can give them economic and sporting benefits that we cannot reach, we have to help the professional. “In this case, with Jackson, we had to sit down, he made the decision that it was time to leave, we understood that it was time to leave, and we are very proud to see that he is doing very well in the Premier League, that he is competing very well with Chelsea, that he is growing every day as a young player. “He is scoring many goals, which is one of his main characteristics, and for us that is a pride, because he is a player who has been trained in the lower divisions, who has reached the first team and who is competing at a great level in the Premier League. ” After a steady first season with Chelsea, Jackson is now one of the top strikers in the Premier League. With the Blues hoping to mount a title challenge, the 23-year-old will be hoping to continue the sort the trajectory that has made Villarreal very proud. © 2024 talk SPORT Limited

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