The first footballs Nicolas Jackson kicked did not roll across English lawns or Spanish academy pitches, but across sandy fields in southern Senegal. No linesmen, no jerseys, no floodlights. His first stadium was a dusty street, his first tactic simple: chase the ball until someone gives in. It was there, in the sweltering heat of West Africa, amongst stones as goalposts and friends as teammates, that he learned the art of turning chaos into creativity. For him, street football meant freedom, courage and spontaneity. Today, when he moves into the penalty area, you can still see it – that irrepressible desire for the unexpected, the hunger to make every action his moment.
Anyone who watches Jackson today, as he speeds into the area, recognises more than just technique in his movements. The forward’s playing style echoes a childhood in which football was not a business, but pure joy. “It helped me a lot and gave me a lot of freedom,” he recalls. That freedom was his academy – no coaches, no textbooks. Just observing, imitating and trying things out. Amidst improvised games on the pitches of Ziguinchor, an attacker was formed who still thrives today on breaking the rules rather than following them. Street football taught him to find a solution in every moment. Today, in Europe’s big arenas, that’s exactly what makes him so unpredictable.
Now the 1.87-metre-tall centre-forward is facing his next challenge: the Allianz Arena. FC Bayern have signed Jackson on a season-long loan from Chelsea. But he is not a classic penalty box striker who lurks waiting for crosses and only scores goals. Jackson unleashes his dynamism from deeper zones. With his back to goal, he shields the ball, staying close to his opponent, lays it off with a quick touch and bridges the midfield with powerful, determined strides. This movement – his characteristic ace up his sleeve – reflects the essence of his game: direct, risk-taking, with an irrepressible will. His street football DNA is evident in every sprint, every dribble – always looking for the fastest, most direct route to goal.
Playing style and strengths
In order for these playful qualities to fully flourish, Jackson needs one thing above all else: freedom of movement and space to develop – to drop deep, turn and sprint away. These are movement patterns that one expects on the wings, not in the centre. It's no coincidence that he often played out Villarreal's B team, until coach Miguel Álvarez realised that he was wasting a crucial strength. “The turning point came when we changed his position,” he told The Guardian. On the wing, Jackson was “too far away from the areas where he can really do damage: the last 30 metres.” So Álvarez moved him into the centre. And it was there, as a second striker, he flourished.
The Spanish club was only the third of his career. Jackson had had little contact with organised football until then. “I never played in a youth team,” he once told Chelsea's club media, looking back. He moved to Ziguinchor in the rural region of Casamance in southern Senegal at the age of 16. There, he donned the jersey of the local club ASC Tilene for the first time – his entry into the world of club football.
Move to Europe
His talent was impossible to overlook. Soon, the door to Senegal's top league opened for him at Casa Sport. In September 2019, he made the move to Europe as Villarreal signed the then 18-year-old. That marked the beginning of a completely new reality – a foreign country, a new language, unfamiliar meals. “It wasn't easy. But I was focused. I had my dream,” Jackson recalled.
He initially trained with the Spanish first division club's U16 team, but it took him some time to adapt. After all, he had never been through a youth academy. However, his future coach Álvarez immediately recognised his extraordinary talent. Jackson was “in a different league” his peers, like “a man among boys”. Álvarez soon promoted him to the B team, before he was loaned to second division club Mirandés. There he gained important experience before returning to Villarreal and taking the next step in his development under Unai Emery, who switched him from the number ten and false nine positions to centre forward. From then on, Jackson sought out the penalty area more often, waited for deep runs and learned how to decide games as a classic number nine.
Álvarez saw him as the prototype of a street footballer: unpolished, unstructured, but full of ideas. “Sometimes I think we turn players into robots,” said the coach. You can't pre-program every detail for players. In tight situations, you need those who have something special. That's exactly what Jackson brought to the table: boldness, fearlessness, the ability to assert himself no matter who was in front of him.
Good Premier League record
His rise at Villarreal didn’t take long. After making his debut in October 2021 against Real Betis, he shone in the second team, almost single-handedly leading the team into the promotion playoffs with his goals and assists. By the 2022/23 season, he had finally exploded onto the scene, netting 12 goals and providing four assists in 26 LaLiga games for the senior team, including nine goals in the last eight games – a record that catapulted him into the spotlight in Spain.
In doing so, he revealed a new side to his game: that of the ice-cold finisher. When Jackson gets the ball in the penalty area, danger ensues. A quick movement is often enough to shake off his opponent, followed by an uncompromising finish – powerful, precise, unpredictable. His physique, technique and sense of space combine to form a dangerous mix, which he rounds off with his strong heading ability.
A personal journey of courage, risk and belief in the dream
It was only a matter of time before a top European club came knocking. Chelsea secured the Senegalese player's services in the summer of 2023. In his debut season, he scored 17 goals and provided six assists in 44 competitive matches. The evening of the London derby at Tottenham Hotspur remains unforgettable, when he single-handedly decided the match with a hat-trick in the closing stages. By then, it was clear that Jackson had made his breakthrough in top-level football.
The path to get there was, however, anything but straightforward. Early on, he took a risk that initially disappointed his parents, dropping out of university to focus entirely on football. Education was the most important thing for his family, but they saw that their son had been given a unique opportunity. Jackson himself describes this decision as irrevocable. He always wanted to make the most of his opportunities and always believed that he could do it. And this belief, coupled with discipline and unwavering determination, continues to drive him to this day.
His next chapter now begins in Munich, at Bayern. Once again, a new country, a foreign language, a different style of football, but Jackson has proven time and again that he can succeed anywhere. Whether on dirt pitches in West Africa or on perfectly manicured turf in Europe's top stadiums, whether as a whirling winger or a powerful number nine, he has always been ready to take on challenges and emerge stronger from them. What sets him apart is his unshakeable belief in himself, his insatiable hunger and his willingness to invest more than others. Gratitude and ambition form the foundation on which he quickly takes root wherever he goes and leaves a lasting mark with determination, courage and energy.
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Here's to a successful time in Munich, Nicolas – pack ma’s!
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