‘He’s not the answer’ – Enzo Maresca told to replace Chelsea star

Chelsea have fallen away following a superb start to the season (Picture: Getty)

Enzo Maresca has been warned that Nicolas Jackson is ‘not the answer’ and must be replaced in order for Chelsea to win major trophies.

Jackson’s frustrating run in front of goal continued on Tuesday night as Chelsea could only draw 2-2 with Bournemouth at Stamford Bridge.

Jackson provided the assist for Cole Palmer’s 13th-minute opener but the Blues found themselves trailing in the second half as Justin Kluivert scored from the penalty spot and Antoine Semenyo netted his sixth goal of the season.

Chelsea were heading for a third defeat in five league games but captain Reece James scored a 95th-minute equaliser to earn the hosts a point.

While Chelsea were in the end delighted to get something out of the game, they have now gone five league matches without a win, slipping ten points behind Premier League leaders Liverpool and just two points above fifth-placed Newcastle United, who have a game in hand.

Jackson, 23, has not scored in a month and missed more chances against Bournemouth, striking the post and hitting the side-netting from close-range.

The Senegal striker started the season in impressive form but ex-Chelsea midfielder Craig Burley believes it was inevitable that his goals would dry up as he is ‘not the answer’ for a title-chasing team.

Nicolas Jackson during Chelsea’s draw with Bournemouth (Picture: Getty)

‘There’s been more good than bad from Nicolas Jackson this season,’ he told ESPN after Chelsea’s 2-2 draw with Bournemouth.

‘Ultimately I think he’s a player, a bit like Kai Havertz at Arsenal, who would be good at coming off the bench or playing in cup games.

‘But you need a top No. 9 and then you have him on the side. He’s having a decent season but I’m sure Enzo Maresca will need to address that position among others.

‘I’ve given Jackson a lot of credit because I didn’t even think he had it in him to produce the performances he has so far this season. He’s surpassed most people’s expectations.

‘That doesn’t mean he’s the second-coming of Drogba and he’s going to be the answer. But that’s what they have at the moment.

‘Maybe at one point they thought Christopher Nkunku was going to be that guy but that doesn’t look like the case.

‘Maybe they’ll go out and address it again. Most of these teams challenging for titles have had someone up front who is different gravy, while Nicolas Jackson is just okay.

‘He has his moments but we will see more of those misses than we will of the really good Nico Jackson.’

Bournemouth almost beat Chelsea at Stamford Bridge (Picture: Getty)

Liverpool legend Steve Nicol agreed with Burley’s assessment of Jackson and said he would prevent Chelsea from winning major silverware.

‘If he had taken his chances, Chelsea would have won more games recently, that’s for sure,’ he added.

‘He’s doing better than we thought he would but if you want to take the next step and challenge constantly, he’s not your guy.’

Maresca, meanwhile, was frustrated that Chelsea failed to put the Bournemouth game to bed and said his team ‘deserved to win’ the game.

Reece James scored an injury-time equaliser for Chelsea (Picture: Getty)

‘I think first half we completely deserved to win the game. We should have scored three goals,’ the Italian told BBC Sport.

‘When we conceded in the second half, we dropped. We deserved to win the game when we created so many chances.

‘It was one of the best parts of the season in the first half. We were aggressive and the chances we created. We are a bit unlucky in scoring goals.

‘We miss and then we concede. We need to continue. The bad thing, as I said, is that after the penalty, we drop and there is no reason we need to do that.

‘The game was completely in our control and it’s something we need to improve.

‘I have concerns always even when we are winning matches. This is the Premier League, when you don’t create chances and don’t score then you have to be more concerned.’

Chelsea return to Premier League action on Monday night against relegation-battlers Wolves, before facing struggling defending champions Manchester City later in the month.

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