John Obi Mikel believes Nicolas Jackson is now third choice striker at Chelsea – but believes he can still have a major role to play at the club.
After two seasons as Chelsea’s only natural option up top, Jackson now has huge competition from summer signings Liam Delap and Joao Pedro.
Delap, a £30million arrival from Ipswich Town, has made a very positive impression at the Fifa Club World Cup, scoring his first goal for the club against ES Tunis.
The England Under-21 international was suspended for Tuesday’s semi-final clash with Fluminense with Pedro starting his first game for the Blues.
Having joined from Brighton for £60million last week, the Brazil international scored two sensational goals against the side he made his professional debut for, sealing a 2-0 win for Enzo Maresca’s side.
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Jackson meanwhile started the game on the bench and to make matters worse, missed a huge chance after coming on in the second-half, berated by Cole Palmer for not passing to him instead.
Former Chelsea midfielder Mikel has been calling for more competition up front for some time and believes his old side now have that with the options of Jackson, Delap and Pedro.
While he believes the Senegal international is now likely to start the new Premier League season as Enzo Maresca’s third choice striker, he believes he still has a future at the club.
‘It is important we have competition in the team, it is very important when you play for a big club and you are competing for trophies and that is what we have got now,’ Mikel told DAZN.
‘Three good strikers competing for one position. With Delap and Joao, that competition is going to push the players to go extra hard.
‘But I still think Jackson has a big part to play, he just needs to sort out himself in terms of discipline and what he wants to do here.
‘But I just think with his performance here today, Joao and Delap are probably ahead of him right now.’
Chelsea will now face Real Madrid or Paris Saint-Germain in the Club World Cup final on Sunday.
