Cut above: I coached youngster Nicolas Jackson at Villarreal and key characteristics made the club unable to resist a transfer from Chelsea.

Nicolas Jackson is proving to be one of the Premier League's best strikers as he continues his remarkable rise to stardom.

While many fans will admire the finished article, who has scored eight goals in 14 games during Chelsea This season it was at LaLiga side Villarreal where the 23-year-old player first showed his undoubted qualities.

The striker joined the club in September 2019 from Senegalese side Casa Sports and went straight into the LaLiga team's famous youth system that has produced stars such as Santi Cazorla, RodriPau Torres and Filip Jorgensen among others.

One of his former teammates is current Villarreal star and vice-captain Alex Baena, who is already one of the biggest stars in the Spanish top flight.

Speaking to talkSPORT.com about Jackson, he recalled: “We were together for three or four years here at Villarreal.

“He's a fantastic guy, a great person. We've had a great connection off the field. On the pitch he has always asked to improve his quality to be able to associate with his teammates.

“I think he has improved a lot this year. He has improved his control of the ball and his connection with his teammates.

“He has great potential and he has been showing it this year. “He has scored many goals.”

One man who knew Jackson better than most in his formative years is Villarreal director of football Miguel Ángel Tena.

Tena, who played for Villarreal before becoming coach of their famous youth team, managed the forward after he joined the club and has nothing but positive things to say about him.

Tena told talkSPORT.com: “I have a special affection for him because when Jackson landed at Villarreal, I was a coach at the time, at the under-18 level.

“So, I was his coach, I was able to see the entire adaptation period of his arrival at Villarreal. I had the pleasure of being able to train him.

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“Jackson is an exceptional boy, a great person with very important human values. From there, everyone at the club saw that his development and process was faster than that of a player of the age when Jackson arrived at the club.”

After showing his qualities at Villarreal B, the decision was made to allow him to join Spanish second division side Mirandés, a decision Tena believes was his decision.

He explained: “There was a moment when, before taking that step into professional football, we decided that the best option for him was to go to a second division team, because we still understood that he was not prepared for the demands of the first division.” equipment.

“I think it was a success, because that made him mature, going to a club like Mirandés, where he was able to leave Villarreal.

“He was able to mature, he was able to coexist with professionals in a club with a different structure than Villarreal.

“It helped him a lot because when he returned to Villarreal he had a great season, he helped us a lot to get promoted to the second division, to professional football.

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“Then, Unai Emerywho was the coach, decided that it was time to bet on him and that he could have the opportunity to play in the first team.

“He alone – based on his work, his perseverance, his effort – managed to score some very important goals for us in the first division and aroused the interest of big clubs, in this case Chelsea, which made the decision to buy Jackson.”

They were the traits that ultimately led to his departure.

After scoring 13 goals in 48 games for Villarreal, Chelsea saw enough and agreed a £32m deal to sign Jackson in the summer of 2023.

While developing a reputation as a selling club would be a frustration for many, Villarreal sees it as a compliment to their core mission of developing young players.

Tena explained: “For us it is a great honor that so many European clubs are interested in some of our players. That means that we have good players and that they can be on another team and in another competition.

“We think that as long as we have them with us we try to enjoy them, we take maximum care of them so that they can spend a lot of time with us.

“We are not thinking about them leaving. But if at some point they leave, because it is football and everyone wants to improve at a salary level, and also at a sporting level, we are delighted that they can leave too.

“Any player who has formed at Villarreal or is in the Villarreal first team and goes to play in Italy, England, Germany or wherever, generates a lot of prestige for us because those clubs sign a good player from Villarreal and that is also a way to have an alliance with all European clubs.

“It is the law of football. If that situation happens, we are working on it. Like every season, we are working on it, analyzing the market to make the best decisions and be prepared in case that situation happens.”

Regarding Jackson, Peña added: “When we understand that a footballer has completed a cycle at Villarreal – in this case Chelsea – that can give him economic and sporting benefits that we cannot achieve, we have to help the professional.

“In this case with Jackson we had to sit down, he made the decision that it was time to leave, we understood that it was time to leave, and we are very proud to see that he is doing very well in the Premier. League, which is competing very well with Chelsea, who is growing every day as a young player.

“He is scoring a lot of goals, which is one of his main characteristics, and for us that is a source of pride, because he is a player who has trained in lower divisions, who has reached the first team and who is competing at a high level. level in the Premier League.”

After a stable first season with Chelsea, Jackson is now one of the best strikers in the Premier League.

With the Blues hoping to challenge for the title, the 23-year-old hopes to continue the trajectory that has made Villarreal proud.