Teddy Sheringham believes Chelsea ‘immediately regretted’ a ‘very strange’ transfer decision they made over the summer.
Chelsea were one of the most active clubs in Europe during the summer transfer window, spending over £300m on new signings and receiving a similar amount on outgoing players.
Enzo Maresca welcomed the likes of Joao Pedro, Alejandro Garnacho and Jorrel Hato and to Stamford Bridge while Noni Madueke, Christopher Nkunku and Nicolas Jackson were among the departees.
It is too early to judge Chelsea’s transfer activity, although a title challenge from the Blues already looks doubtful as Maresca’s side have slipped five points behind early leaders Arsenal after just seven games.
Ex-England striker Sheringham is in no doubt that Chelsea made a mistake by sending Jackson on loan to Bayern, however, and believes the Blues ‘immediately regretted’ their decision.
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Jackson joined the German champions on a season-long loan deal and will complete a £70m move to Bayern next summer if he makes a set number of appearances.
Chelsea considered blocking his exit after Liam Delap suffered an injury setback but Jackson was not to be denied a dream move to Bayern Munich.
‘I thought Chelsea made a very strange decision in letting Nicolas Jackson go out on loan to Bayern Munich,’ Sheringham told Coin Poker.
‘A top club needs the focal point of the team, the centre forward, to be someone who can lead the line and understand what the job required of him is.
‘Jackson had been at the club for two years; he’s got experience and his goalscoring record had been improving.
‘I was very surprised to see him leave and to see him discarded in the manner that he was by Enzo Maresca.
‘He was a player who knew Maresca’s system well and could’ve helped Joao Pedro to gel into the team. Now they have Pedro and Delap, both of whom are still learning a new system and one injured.
‘The timing of Delap’s injury was unfortunate, but I think it showed that Chelsea immediately regretted their decision to let Jackson go because they tried to call him back and he said no, which I thought was fair enough.’
Ex-Chelsea striker Carlton Cole has also questioned the decision to offload Jackson, who scored 30 goals in 81 appearances for the Blues.
‘I still like Nicolas Jackson,’ he told Boyle Sports. ‘I know people give him a hard time, but he’s the type of striker who will run tirelessly for you, even if he doesn’t always get the reward or fluffs his lines in front of goal.
‘You know he’s putting in the effort. If you looked at his running stats, they would be off the charts, and that’s why he held that shirt for quite a while.
‘He’ll work hard for his teammates, he’ll be a teammate’s dream really. It’s only when he wants to get greedy and goes out of his shell to try and be the main man that it goes wrong for him. That’s what I’ve noticed.
‘He’s a good player for me and one that’s valuable to a team, but I wouldn’t say he’s the main man, that’s the problem he had.
‘I don’t think Joao Pedro is a replacement for him, and I’m not saying he’s an improvement on him; I’m just saying he’s a different type of player.
‘Jackson wants to go and get first-team games so I’ve got no qualms with him whatsoever, and I do think he’s a good player.’
Jackson, playing back-up to England captain Harry Kane, has scored one goal in six appearances for Bayern Munich.
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