John Obi Mikel questions Chelsea transfer decision and £60m signing

Former Chelsea midfielder John Obi Mikel (Picture: Getty)

John Obi Mikel has questioned Chelsea ’s decision to sell Nicolas Jackson , insisting the Blues are ‘missing’ the striker this season.

Jackson enjoyed a promising first season at Stamford Bridge following his £32m move from Villarreal in 2023 , scoring 17 goals in all competitions.

The Senegal international quickly formed a productive partnership with Cole Palmer and helped the England star win the Premier League Young Player of the Season award following his move from Manchester City .

Jackson was less influential in his second season at Chelsea, however, and attracted criticism from a number of pundits for his inconsistent finishing.

It quickly became apparent that Chelsea intended to replace Jackson last summer and the Blues welcomed Joao Pedro and Liam Delap to the club.

Jackson was subsequently sent on loan to Bundesliga champions Bayern Munich , leaving Pedro and Delap as Chelsea’s two main striker options this season.

Pedro has largely impressed following his £60m move from Brighton, scoring 19 goals in all competitions, but ex-Ipswich Town forward Delap has netted just twice since his £30m transfer.

Nicolas Jackson joined Bayern Munich last summer (Picture: Getty)

Obi Mikel has questioned both Pedro and Delap, however, claiming neither have provided Chelsea with what Jackson did during his time at Stamford Bridge.

‘We are missing Nicolas Jackson,’ the Chelsea hero said on his YouTube channel . ‘What he gave us, no striker has given us. So yes, we are missing Jackson.’

Bayern Munich paid an eye-watering £14.3m just to sign Jackson on loan for the 2025-26 campaign.

Chelsea summer signing Joao Pedro (Picture: Getty)

The German giants also agreed to sign Jackson on a permanent transfer this summer worth a further £56m if certain conditions were met .

Jackson has failed to play enough games to activate the transfer, however, meaning Bayern will have to renegotiate a new deal with Chelsea or send him back to Stamford Bridge.

The 24-year-old was delighted to join Bayern Munich and wanted to stay at the Allianz Arena but is now said to be ‘open’ to returning to west London .

Obi Mikel is not the only pundit to question Chelsea’s decision to offload Jackson, with Paul Merson and Paul Scholes voicing similar opinions earlier in the season .

Jackson has not had a huge impact at Bayern, playing back-up to England captain Harry Kane, but is still set to be a Bundesliga and potentially even a Champions League winner.

Vincent Kompany’s side are 15 points clear at the top of the Bundesliga table and preparing to face Real Madrid on Wednesday night for a place in the Champions League semi-finals .

Jackson’s parent club Chelsea, meanwhile, have lost five of their last six games to slip to sixth in the Premier League and crash out of the Champions League.