Last summer, Chelsea forward Nicolas Jackson joined Bayern Munich on loan in slightly bizarre circumstances. 

A loan deal had initially been agreed, before Liam Delap picked up an injury in a home game against Fulham, leaving the club to reconsider letting the player go. Nevertheless, a deal was eventually agreed, with a reported loan fee of over 15 million Euros. 

It has been a pretty unremarkable season for Jackson out in Germany. In all competitions, he has totalled just 674 minutes, the equivalent of just under 7.5 full games. 

For context, he has played more minutes for the Senegalese national team this season - 705. A whole half an hour extra. This is what happens when you go to a team who have the best striker in the world. 

Some had suggested that Jackson would play alongside Harry Kane in games, with the latter's ability to drop deep and spray passes; they could have dovetailed quite nicely, but that just hasn't really happened so far. 

For the loan to have become an obligation to buy, the striker would have had to start 40 games across all competitions. It became quite apparent early on that that wouldn't be happening, and now it officially can't. 

So, no obligation, just simply an option, and there is an update on that. According to various reports, Bayern have decided not to exercise the option to buy Jackson, and he will officially return to Chelsea in the summer of 2026. 

It will be interesting to see whether Liam Rosenior fancies the player. He could give him a clean slate, as he seems willing to do for many players. However, can he give him the game time he wants?

We can clearly see that Rosenior is a big fan of Cole Palmer in the number ten role, and Joao Pedro as the striker. In which case, you wonder where Jackson would fit in. Maybe on the wing? Doesn't feel too likely, though. 

There is the possibility he plays Palmer off the right, Pedro as the number ten, and Jackson up front, but it feels like he is a big fan of the current dynamic, and as they say - if it isn't broken, don't fix it. 

So let's see. It is clear there is a player in there somewhere; we've seen it in flashes during his time in SW6. 

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