FORMER Arsenal and Chelsea midfielder Emmanuel Petit has insisted that the latter do not have to sign Victor Osimhen to replace Nicolas Jackson.
Super Eagles striker Osimhen has been linked with a move to Chelsea, with the English Premier League club reportedly willing to offer £90m and Romelu Lukaku to Napoli for the Nigeria international.
However, Petit, who spent three years at Chelsea from 2001 to 2004 after a similar spell at Arsenal, believes Senegal striker Jackson is doing well enough and Chelsea should stick with him.
“Chelsea do not need [Victor] Osimhen or [Alexander] Isak. We all know about the No.9 curse at Chelsea and in the last couple of months, we’ve seen what [Nicolas] Jackson can do,” Petit, who won the 1998 World Cup with France, told Grosvenor Sport.
“There’s no need to put more pressure on him by signing someone like Isak on his back. You need competition in every position, but when you have someone like Jackson starting to emerge, don’t put pressure on him and let him explode.
“For me, if I’m Chelsea, I’m not buying Isak as Jackson is already beginning to flourish.”
Jackson, 22, has been in fine form in recent weeks after a slow start to his Chelsea career, and has now registered 13 goals and five assists in 32 Premier League appearances.
On his part, 25-year-old Osimhen has been one of Europe’s most sought-after strikers for at least two years and in spite of Napoli’s struggles this season has still produced 15 goals and three assists in 23 Serie A matches.
