| Club | Aston Villa FC |
| Position | Attacker |
| Squad number | 11 |
| Age | 25 (born Wed, 20 Jun 2001) |
| Nationality | Senegal |
| Height | 187 cm |
2026/2027 season
| Stat | Total |
|---|---|
| Appearances | 1 |
| Minutes played | 71 |
Data: SportMonks · updated 4 Sept 2026
Nicolas Jackson at Aston Villa
Nicolas Jackson joined Aston Villa from Chelsea in August 2026, arriving for an initial £47.5million as part of Unai Emery’s major summer rebuild.
The Senegal international took the No.11 shirt and immediately became one of the main options to replace Ollie Watkins at the top of Villa’s attack.
Jackson also reunited with Emery after previously working under the Spaniard at Villarreal.
His first few Aston Villa appearances came during a difficult period for the whole team, with Villa failing to score in their opening three Premier League matches.
However, our analysis of Jackson’s early Aston Villa performances showed that his movement and positioning provided encouragement even before the goals arrived.
The breakthrough eventually came in Europe.
Jackson scored his first competitive Aston Villa goal during the 3-2 Champions League victory over Club Brugge, running onto Pau Torres’ pass before finishing to give Villa a 3-1 lead.
He subsequently said there was “more to come” after opening his Aston Villa account.
Jackson’s importance has also been backed publicly by John McGinn.
Speaking to The Guardian, Villa’s captain described Jackson as a “brilliant guy” and backed the striker to become a major player for the club.
Jackson is now central to Villa’s attempt to rebuild their attacking output following Watkins’ departure.
His pace, movement in behind and ability to link attacks give Emery a different focal point, while his development remains one of the key storylines of Aston Villa’s 2026/27 season.
For the full current first-team list, visit our Aston Villa squad 2026/27 page.
Career before Aston Villa
Jackson began his European career with Villarreal before spending the 2020/21 campaign on loan at Mirandés.
He eventually established himself in Villarreal’s senior side under Emery and scored 12 La Liga goals before joining Chelsea in 2023.
Jackson scored 24 goals in 65 Premier League appearances for Chelsea and was part of the side that won the UEFA Conference League in 2025.
He later spent the 2025/26 season on loan at Bayern Munich, adding Bundesliga and DFB-Pokal honours before returning to England and completing his move to Aston Villa.
