We’ve already covered Enzo Maresca’s press conference comments today on Ipswich striker Liam Delap – but what of his thoughts on a striker a little closer to home?
Rather than admit that he and those making the decisions at Chelsea wanted to sign Delap, Maresca made a point of how happy he was with a player already on his books.
“My perfect number nine is exactly Nico Jackson,” the manager said.
“We already have a number nine. It’s not summer now. If we could have a copy of Nico, that would OK. I have said many times, and you can see as well, with Nico we are a better team. Nico is the one we need. “Last season, he scored goals without penalties. This season he scored goals until he was injured. Now, hopefully he can score more goals without penalties. We are happy with Nico. And about next season, it’s not the moment [to talk about transfers].”
Maresca telling the truth about love for Jackson
Of course, we wouldn’t expect Maresca to go out into a press conference and say “my perfect number 9 is Lautaro Martinez” or similar, but we don’t think he’s just being diplomatic. He really does like Jackson, and we can see why.
He works well in a Maresca system, and has a great attitude.
Of course he’s not a “perfect” player – he will never have that poacher’s instinct or finishing ability. But his other strengths can more than make up for that, especially if he keeps improving.
We saw the instant improvement the team had when Jackson returned from injury against Spurs last week, and even how much better they were following his introduction in the second half against Brentford last weekend. We need a similar impact on Sunday.
