Jamie O’Hara insists 22-year-old Chelsea star lacks what it takes to be a world-class player

Jamie O’Hara insists 22-year-old Chelsea star lacks what it takes to be a world-class player

Jamie O’Hara has made a bold claim regarding one Chelsea player.

The pundit has claimed that Nicolas Jackson doesn’t have what it takes to grow into a world-class player, despite the 22-year-old having a decent season so far.

Jackson joined Chelsea from Spanish club, Villarreal last summer after the Blues agreed to pay them £32m.

The Senegal international found it very hard to adapt to the Premier League at the start of the season, but since the turn of the current year, he has improved a lot, and now has 12 goals in 31 games across all competitions.

Nine of Jackson’s 12 goals for Chelsea have come in the Premier League, with the latest coming in that 3-2 win against Newcastle United on Monday night.

Mauricio Pochettino revealed after the game, that he was really impressed with the striker’s performance and growth over the course of the season, but while O’Hara admits he also likes the forward, the pundit has told talkSPORT he just can’t see him turning into the type of player to score Chelsea many goals.

“He’s not going to be world-class… I like him. I think he’s good. He’s got potential,” O’Hara said on Monday of Nicolas Jackson.

“Do I believe he’s ever going to be a star striker in the Premier League that Chelsea need if you want to compete at the top of the table?

“The best teams in the Premier League are the ones that have got the best strikers. Simple as that. Nicolas Jackson I don’t think is going to be that.”

If there’s one thing that Jackson has shown during his first season at Chelsea, it’s that he has a hunger to get better and prove his doubters wrong, and we think he’s already doing just that. It will probably take a few more seasons before he turns into the great forward he has the potential to become, but it’s something he can achieve if he works hard enough.