Villa’s £65m Jackson Pursuit Hinges on Chelsea’s Transfer Resolve

IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

Villa’s £65m Jackson Pursuit Hinges on Chelsea’s Transfer Resolve

Originally posted on Chelsea News | By Fiona Castellano | Last updated Jul 22, 2026 8:59 AM ET

The Rogers deal hasn’t just reshaped our attack – it’s opened the door for a £65m Jackson sale, and frankly, Chelsea seem perfectly comfortable watching him walk through it.

Football London have reported that Chelsea are open to selling Nicolas Jackson this summer, with Aston Villa interested in signing Jackson this summer. Senior Chelsea reporter Bobby Vincent confirmed that Villa would need to pay around £65m for the 25-year-old striker, and that Jackson’s name came up directly during negotiations over the Morgan Rogers deal – Chelsea’s all-time record £117m signing.

Chelsea’s position on Jackson is clear – and it makes sense

The plan, according to Football London, is for Jackson to report to pre-season at some point during the club’s four-country tour – but Chelsea would not stand in his way if a £65m offer arrived. That is a pretty unambiguous signal from the club. They are not pushing him out, but they are absolutely not blocking the exit either.

Frankly, that posture makes sense given everything that has happened. Jackson fell out with Enzo Maresca last season, was shipped to Bayern Munich on loan, and Bayern chose not to trigger the appearance clause in his deal to sign the striker permanently. That sequence of events tells its own story. With Rogers now arriving and Xabi Alonso reshaping the squad on his own terms, we’re in a different attacking setup entirely – and Jackson simply may not fit it the way he once might have.

Alonso will reportedly take a closer look at Jackson when he joins the tour, which suggests this is not a done deal in either direction. But Chelsea holding firm at £65m while remaining open to offers is exactly the kind of clear transfer posture we need to see. You can read more about Jackson’s situation and where he stood heading into this window here.

Villa’s interest is real – but £65m is a big ask after an irregular season

Unai Emery coached Jackson at Villarreal and the mutual respect between the two is understood to be significant – that personal connection is probably the single biggest reason Villa are in this conversation at all. Jackson is also reportedly open to the idea of moving to Villa Park before the September 1 deadline. So the will is there on both sides.

The sticking point is the fee. Villa were interested in Jackson last summer too, and Chelsea knocked them back then. Now they are willing to sell, but £65m is a big price for a player whose last season involved irregular football at a club that didn’t want to make him permanent. Villa will push back on that valuation – and they have a point. Whether Chelsea blink or hold is the question.

With the broader summer clearout already generating serious transfer income, a £65m Jackson sale would be a significant further injection into Alonso’s budget. Chelsea hold the cards here. It’s up to Villa to decide how much they want their manager’s reunion.

Chelsea broke their all-time transfer record to sign Morgan Rogers from Aston Villa for £117m – we covered the full details of the deal here.

Chelsea’s summer clearout is building serious momentum – here’s the full picture of outgoing fees and what it means for Alonso’s transfer budget.

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

More must-reads: