Aston Villa have reportedly now reached an agreement with Chelsea for the signing of forward Nicolas Jackson in a deal worth £65m.
It has been a busy summer for Villa as Unai Emery rebuilds his squad following our success last season, with a number of key individuals departing and needing to be replaced.
With a crucial update on Wednesday suggesting that Ollie Watkins is now on the verge of completing a move to Al Hilal, Villa are set to swoop for his successor quickly and fill a critical void in our attack.
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According to The Athletic, Villa have now agreed a deal with Chelsea to sign Jackson in a total package worth £65m, of which £47.5m will be paid upfront as the initial fee, with the rest being made up of add-ons.
It’s hoped that it proves to be a very sensible signing as although the 25-year-old hasn’t been prolific through his career thus far, he has impressed across spells with Villarreal, Chelsea and Bayern Munich.
Emery will know him well from their time together in Spain and it appears as though the Villa boss has finally now secured a reunion with him, with speculation linking us with a move for the Senegalese international for some time.
Jackson bagged 30 goals and 12 assists in 81 appearances for Chelsea, while he scored 11 in 34 outings for Bayern and 13 in 48 games for Villarreal.
With his movement, pace, ability to create and eye for goal, he will hopefully become a fundamental piece in our attack moving forward, with plenty of change in that department as Johan Manzambi and Alejandro Garnacho also arrived earlier this summer to strengthen that area of the squad.
Add in Zion Suzuki, Joao Gomes, Matteo Ruggeri and Aaron Wan-Bissaka, and the Villa squad is set to look very different this season after the exits of Lucas Digne, Youri Tielemans, Morgan Rogers, Ezri Konsa and perhaps with both Watkins and Emiliano Martinez to follow, but there is excitement over what Emery is building and how he plans to evolve his side to ensure we enjoy sustained success under his leadership.
