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Jackson will be 'on the bench' and Chelsea could struggle to get full €80m claims ESPN pundit

Originally posted on Chelsea News | Last updated Sep 2, 2025 9:45 AM ET

The transfer window is shut and the dust is settling on one of the most exciting windows ever.

Chelsea were involved from start to finish, and played a major role in one of the dominant dramas of the final few days.

Nicolas Jackson’s move to Bayern Munich was on, then off, then on again, and in the end Chelsea were able to squeeze a phenomenal fee out of the German giants.

ESPN can’t believe Jackson mega fee

They discussed it in their transfer window roundup on ESPN, where they weren’t able to believe how well the Blues did on that front:

“€80m, I never thought that I’d say that a club would agree to potentially pay that much for Nicolas Jackson,” Julien Laurens said.

“Especially Bayern, where if you look at it, he’s going to be on the bench. There’s no way, unless Vincent Kompany want to try Harry Kane and Jackson as a partnership… Nico’s position is on the bench.”

You can see them discussing the fee in the clip embedded here:

Jackson not guaranteed Bayern move just yet

There is a worry in all that – while we’re sure Chelsea are delighted to have negotiated such a good fee, they do need Jackson to achieve enough appearances to trigger the permanent move.

Everyone is assuming that’s inevitable, but it’s hard to say until we know how many are needed. Laurens’ warnings are worth heeding – if Jackson is on the bench a lot and Bayern are doing well, it could end up being quite the storyline for the season. We’ve seen managers instructed to not use players in the past to avoid triggering similar large clauses.

If Bayern decide they don’t want Jackson long term and the team is doing well without him, this beautiful arrangement could all come crashing down.

This article first appeared on Chelsea News and was syndicated with permission.

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