Chelsea latest: Maresca favourite compared to Soccer Aid celebrity

Former Tottenham Hotspur manager Tim Sherwood has compared Chelsea forward Nicolas Jackson to a Soccer Aid celebrity following his open goal miss against Brentford on Sunday evening.

The Senegal international bagged his ninth goal of the season during Chelsea’s win over Thomas Frank’s side, but he blazed a left-footed effort over the crossbar from six yards out in the second-half.

Jackson was heavily criticised for his inconsistent finishing throughout his debut campaign at Stamford Bridge, however he has become a reliable goalscorer since Enzo Maresca’s arrival.

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The 23-year-old’s form has been praised by the new Blues boss on a number of occasions and big-money signing Christopher Nkunku has made just two Premier League starts this season due to competition from the ex-Villarreal star.

Despite this, Sherwood still believes Jackson sometimes doesn’t look like a professional footballer.

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What has been said?

“I think all season, well, since I’ve seen Nicolas Jackson, he’s so unpredictable,” Sherwood told Premier League Productions (via The Daily Mail).

“At times he looks like someone playing in Soccer Aid who’s not a footballer. Look at this chance [Jackson’s miss from six yards], that looks like someone who is a rapper or an actor or something trying to play football.

“But then all of a sudden he just turns it on. He’s such a threat because he tries to get in behind, he doesn’t mind if he misses chances because he knows his one will come.”

Despite his criticism of the Chelsea star, Sherwood continued by praising Jackson for his goal on Sunday. “We’ll show you something now [Jackson’s goal] which is undefendable, you can’t defend this,” he said.

“As soon as the ball turns over, [Moises] Caicedo does brilliantly, and Enzo [Fernandez] gives him the ball. Once he’s in this position, not everyone can do this [run through and score], he’s got a talent to do this.

“It’s incredible. He scores the hardest chances and misses the easiest ones, but you need to be a big character to do that because he always wants to put himself on offer.

“I’ve got a lot of time for him. He’s scored nine Premier League goals now [this season], that’s a very difficult chance [against Brentford], he’s got so much to do, he drives and drives, keeps his balance well, smashes it in the bottom corner, fantastic, wins them the game.

“But he always puts himself on offer all of the time and I admire that from him.”