Premier League icon surprised by Man Utd transfer snub - 'He wanted to leave'

Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink has questioned why Manchester United failed to make a serious move for Nicolas Jackson before his summer exit. United were among the Premier League clubs linked with the Senegal striker during the window as his departure from Chelsea appeared inevitable.

Bayern Munich completed a deal to sign Jackson, despite enduring multiple twists following reports that the move was blocked after Liam Delap's injury setback. However, Jackson eventually signed for the German giants on transfer deadline day.

Ruben Amorim's side was among the most active sides in the market. They focused heavily on bolstering their attacking options, with Benjamin Sesko joining Bryan Mbeumo and Mathues Cunha.

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However, only the ex-Brentford forward has managed to find the net in the opening five Premier League fixtures, whilst Cunha made his comeback from injury during the 2-1 triumph over Chelsea.

Hasselbaink, who bagged 87 goals across 177 outings for the Stamford Bridge outfit, leapt to Jackson's defence, expressing his amazement that neither United nor Newcastle pursued the striker.

"I've always liked Nicolas Jackson," Hasselbaink told Betway. "I think he could bring something to the team, but obviously two strikers have come in and he felt that he was not going to play as much as he was.

"He wanted to leave and you can understand that. I think Chelsea were happy to sell him.

"I was just surprised that Newcastle or Man Utd didn't try to get him.

"But he asked to leave, and I don't know what I can say about that really. He's at another club outside of England and I think Chelsea wish him well."

Jackson secured his move to Bavaria on deadline day, with the deal keeping him at the Bundesliga outfit on loan until the season concludes.

It has been claimed that the 24-year-old's temporary switch will become permanent if he reaches a specified number of appearances - netting Chelsea a reported £56.2million for the former Villarreal star.

It has been a tough start for the forward. So far, he has failed to register a goal in his opening three outings in Germany, including a brief substitute appearance against his parent club in the Champions League as Harry Kane's brace helped defeat Enzo Maresca's team 3-1.

Sesko has also drawn a blank in his early United stint following a sluggish beginning to Premier League life.

The former RB Leipzig talisman has featured six times, once in the Carabao Cup, earning starts in his most recent two league matches but unable to score as Amorim's squad experiences a mixed opening to the season.

Despite his faltering introduction to life in M16, the Portuguese manager has already backed him in an intriguing statement.

"When you are in a club like this, you want to have the best players but you also have to imagine the future," he said at the end of last month. "That is so exciting – I like to know the players, I like to see the videos of the players and to try to get all the information, but you want that confirmation and I felt Sesko was even better than what I was thinking.

"I have to be careful, Sesko is going to be our striker for many, many years so we need to put that in his head and let him settle down, to stay calm and enjoy his day because he's really like you said, obsessed.

"I'm really happy – not just with him but with Cunha, Diego (Leon), and Mbeumo – we know that we have the players and we know that in our future we are going to have that base and that is really important for us."

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