Mauricio Pochettino has revealed that Chelsea are trying to get Nicolas Jackson back from the Africa Cup of Nations in time for Wednesday’s clash with Liverpool.
Jackson’s Senegal were knocked out of the AFCON on Monday evening, losing to hosts Cote d’Ivoire in a dramatic penalty shootout in the round of 16.
Following Senegal’s exit, Chelsea are keen to get starting striker Jackson back to the club and reintegrated into the first-team squad as quickly as possible.
Speaking about Jackson in his pre-match press conference, Pochettino admitted that the club are trying to get him back in time for Wednesday’s heavyweight clash with Liverpool at Anfield.
“We are seeing [if it is possible for Jackson to play]. Maybe it will happen. If it means we have a one percent more chance to win the game, for sure, we will try it,” said Pochettino.
“We are waiting. All I can say is that maybe he will be there. The other day, Ghana lost and were out, and Inaki Williams arrived a few hours before and played in the second half to beat Barcelona in the Copa del Rey.
“Why can’t Jackson arrive and score the winning goal?”
“[Jackson missing] is allowing us, different circumstances, to be creative and to really work hard to try and provide the team with a good balance because during these six, seven months that we are working,” the Chelsea boss added.
“We always are changing players. Always 12, 13, 14 players available and 10, 12 players out. It was always difficult to find the balance and to compete in the best way. We are talking about different things and different aspects of the game that it is difficult to be consistent when you cannot repeat one team and repeat again and the next and the next week.
“But with Nico, we miss this ‘aggressivity’ that he provides in front, he runs a lot, the effort is massive and he helps the team to press high, recover and then to score goals because also he is scoring goals.
“He has a good record at the moment. I think we miss him a lot and now, yes, happy in some way because we can recover him and the other side, of course, is sad because they lost. But selfishly, I am happy because maybe he can be with us.”
