Enzo Maresca's dramatic Nicolas Jackson U-turn revealed ahead of Bayern Munich vs Chelsea

Enzo Maresca once upon a time explained how his perfect striker for Chelsea would be a clone of Nicolas Jackson. Less than five months after making those comments, the Blues sanctioned the exit of the 24-year-old forward.

From Chelsea's point of view, there was no rush whatsoever to offload Jackson, despite the signings of Joao Pedro and Liam Delap. A combined figure of around £90million saw the Blues add the attacking duo from Brighton and Ipswich Town, respectively, with Maresca wanting to enter the new season with three striker options.

football.london understands Chelsea were keen on two out-and-out No.9s - with Jackson and Delap the options at the time - as well as a versatile forward - with Joao Pedro being brought in during the Club World Cup. Chelsea's transfer business had cast doubt over Jackson's future at Stamford Bridge, but the Blues were more than content with their attacking options for the 2025/26 season.

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It was not until the start of August before Jackson informed Chelsea of his desire to explore his options between then and the end of the window. Plenty of clubs had already enquired about the Senegal international and his precarious situation, but it was the first time the player had made his desire to leave perfectly clear.

Bayern Munich came calling late in the transfer window and at one point, the German champions had looked like they completed the signing of Jackson on a season-long loan deal, with an option to buy for £56.2million, as well as a £12.97million loan fee. However, with Delap picking up a serious hamstring injury, Chelsea decided to cancel the loan, only to later reach another agreement with Bayern. This time, with an obligation to buy, and a higher loan fee of £14.2million.

Jackson made his Bayern debut over the weekend, with the on-loan striker coming on in the 5-0 victory over Hamburg. He could make his first ever Champions League appearance on Wednesday evening against, you guessed it, Chelsea.

After leaving Chelsea not so long ago, Vincent Kompany hinted that Jackson could have some inside information to share about his former team and how they set up. Maresca said: "Probably can be a small advantage because he can ask Nicolas the way we work, the way we try to prepare a game. At the end, Nicolas was with us for one entire season so he knows exactly the way we approach games. But at the end, we see."

The Chelsea head coach continued: "I said the other day that I am grateful to Nicolas because if we achieve what we achieved last year, it is because all the players, including Nicolas who was with us. I texted him after he left the club, telling him thanks for last season, wishing him all the best.

"Nicolas is a good guy, he was with us, he was working well. In terms of the rule, for me it is normal. I am from Italy, I played many years in Spain. This rule, when you are on loan, you can play, so for me it is okay."