Nicolas Jackson is proving Maresca and Chelsea were RIGHT to persist with him

But even after the speculation over Chelsea's attempted deadline day swoop for Napoli star Victor Osimhen, Nicolas Jackson is proving that Enzo Maresca and Todd Boehly were right to stick with him.

Yes, it is still early days into the new season, but the 23-year-old looks a much-improved player from when he first joined the club in 2023 and is making his critics eat their words.

A brace of goals and an assist on Saturday against West Ham saw the £32million Senegal international claim the man-of-the-match award and go joint third in the league's top-scorers tally.

It was Jackson's classy, outside-the-boot finish for his second goal that got many talking, while ex-Chelsea star Demba Ba lumped praise on Jackson for his brilliant movement.

'Nicolas Jackson's second goal is a masterclass on creating space,' Ba wrote on X (formerly Twitter). 'How he gets the defender out of position and gets in there is top level. Even better than the finishing itself.'

Jackson is proving that he might be settling into the demands of the top-flight having now got a full season of Premier League football under his belt.

During the 2023-24 campaign, he returned an impressive 14 league goals, which is an excellent haul for a young striker debuting in the English top-flight. It is worth also noting he was two goals shy of Arsenal winger Bukayo Saka and three ahead of Liverpool's Darwin Nunez.

Equally, across all competitions, Jackson had scored more non-penalty goals since the beginning of last season (18) than Son Heung-min, Dominic Solanke, Alexander Isak Kai Havertz and even Mohamed Salah, according to Squawka.

He could have improved on that tally if he'd have been more clinical in front of goal, with the forward missing a raft of chances throughout last season. Jackson would go on to be ranked third in the league for missing 24 big chances, placing behind Erling Haaland (34) and Nunez (27).

And that is where Jackson has been most heavily critiqued.

Even at the beginning of this season, the striker was questioned over the spate of chances he failed to convert during his side's 2-0 defeat by Manchester City. It prompted former Blues star John Obi Mikel to issue a rather scathing appraisal of the forward.

Mikel told beIN Sports: 'You need a striker who knows how to hit a ball back in the back of the net and that's what we don't have.

'I know I talk so much about him [Jackson] and sometimes I sound like I disrespect him. I don't disrespect him. I think at Chelsea Football Club we need a top striker who can get us a goal.'

Jackson would go on to score Chelsea's opening goal during their 6-2 victory against Wolves at Molineux and lashed out at Obi Mikel online, telling him: 'Shut your mouth. Don't talk s***, we are killing ourselves for Africa.'

It is true that the 23-year-old's weakness have largely related to his finishing and positioning in front of goal but the tide is starting to change, with Jackson scoring eight goals and logging three assists in his last 10 top-flight appearances.

It's not just his goal tally that has improved, though - Jackson's work around the pitch, teeing up his team-mates and pressing on opposition players has also been impressive.

'It's true that he deserved (some criticism) because he was missing big chances,' former Chelsea boss Mauricio Pochettino said on his finishing last season.

'But for us, it's a different judgement. It's to see the potential and the capacity to improve. Nico has the potential to be a fantastic striker. It's about patience and time.'

'Nico, through confidence and working really hard, is changing the opinion,' he added. 'I am so happy that now people are starting to see Nico in the way we saw.'

His confidence certainly seems to be growing as his stock trends even further upward. The more goals he gets, the more composed he looks on the ball and his nutmeg on Alphonse Areola on Saturday seemingly made him hungry for a second.

'The finish was something I was happy with too,' he said on his first goal against West Ham. 'I saw the goalkeeper come towards me and I made the decision to put it through his legs and luckily for me, it came off perfectly. I've been working hard on that aspect of my game so I'm happy to score two goals and help the team.

'That gave me confidence for the second goal and I feel stronger with each game after overcoming my injury from last season. I feel strong and I'm happy with my performance, but also the performance of the team as a whole.'