Atletico Madrid eyes Nicolas Jackson as Chelsea striker’s future hangs in the balance

Nicolas Jackson came back from Bavaria with a Bundesliga title medal in his pocket and an uncertain future waiting for him in London. Now Atletico Madrid wants to make that uncertainty work in their favor. The Spanish club has expressed sustained interest in signing the 25-year-old Chelsea forward, with speculation around a potential summer 2026 move intensifying as Jackson finds himself in a peculiar limbo: valued highly by Chelsea, courted by rivals, but lacking a permanent club willing to put real money on the table. How we got here Jackson joined Chelsea from Villarreal in the summer of 2023 for £32 million, signing an eight-year deal that was later extended to run until 2033. He logged 65 appearances for the club across all competitions, scoring 24 goals, before heading out on loan to Bayern Munich for the 2025-26 season. The loan went well by most measures: 8 goals in 23 Bundesliga matches, and a league title to show for it. Bayern, however, declined to trigger the €65 million purchase option attached to the deal. The result is that Jackson is back at Chelsea, training in pre-season, while his long-term situation gets quietly negotiated around him. Atletico’s interest dates b...