AFCON winner disagrees with Mikel Obi tips Nicolas Jackson to win Ballon d'Or

AFCON winner disagrees with Mikel Obi tips Nicolas Jackson to win Ballon d'Or

Faruq Ibrahim 23:57 - 01.11.2024

Chelsea striker Nicolas Jackson has been tipped to win the Ballon d'Or by his compatriot.

Al Hilal centre-back Kalidou Koulibaly was full of praise for Chelsea's striker Nicolas Jackson, as he tipped him to become a future Ballon d'Or winner. 

Jackson joined Chelsea in the summer of 2023 from Villarreal and was immediately thrown into the deep end, tasked with being Chelsea's starting striker. He largely struggled, but in spells, he showed the quality that justified the investment and trust of the club. 

The 22-year-old’s struggles last season attracted immense criticism even from ex-players, especially Chelsea legend John Mikel Obi, whose reproval was sternly rebutted by the Senegal international

What Koulibaly said 

Speaking in a recent interview, the former Chelsea defender admitted to following Jackson's progress, and he revealed the regularly advices his younger colleague. 

“I speak all the time with Nicolas because he’s my international teammate. He’s a young player who I like. I speak a lot with him,” he said. 

“Nicolas can be a very good player. Edouard Mendy and me, we talk with him a lot because we know how difficult it is arriving from Villarreal to a big club like Chelsea.

“I give him a lot of advice because he deserves it, and he listens to his elders. It’s true that at Chelsea the demand is very high. They want a lot of goals, assists and players to be very good from the beginning.

Chelsea's Nicolas Jackson

“I hope he will continue to score. We know for all strikers life is goals and Nicolas is no different.”

The Ex-Napoli star went on to bill Jackson to achieve great things in future, as he believes he can become the next face of football in the country, inheriting Sadio Mane’s place. 

“He has a good attitude and personality. And for me, he’ll become the story of Senegal, just like Sadio Mane did. I am always telling him he has to follow Mane.”

“I hope he will be the best player in Africa and why not in the world? He has the talent, so all things are at his feet.

“Nicolas has to believe he can be this good. That is the most important thing. All the players who have won the Ballon d’Or believed they could. They all thought they could win this trophy. So you have to put this in Nicolas’ head.

“Of course, I don’t tell him to be selfish and ignore his teammates, but he has to think about the Ballon d’Or, and if you put this image in his head, he can achieve it. And that’s what I tell him all the time.”