The end to this LaLiga Santander season is proving to be very exciting, with tight battles to qualify for Europe and to avoid relegation, with many stars turning up for their teams. One player who stands out above the rest is Nicolas Jackson. The 21-year-old forward, who was born in The Gambia and who plays for Senegal, has taken the competition by storm in the last few rounds, scoring eight goals and assisting twice in his past six games. His incredible explosion of form, which started at the end of April and has carried through all of May, has helped Villarreal CF to qualify for Europe once more and even maintain hope of qualifying for the Champions League.
Over these past six games, five of which were victories for Los Amarillos, Jackson has shown his full attacking arsenal. He has used his power, produced pacey runs, demonstrated excellent positioning in the box and unleashed some clinical finishing, as he has scored his eight goals from just 11 shots on target. In the one match from the past six when he didn’t score, against Girona FC, he provided the assists for both of his team’s goals, to Yeremy Pino and Gerard Moreno. He has undoubtedly been the key man for Quique Setién’s side in the final stretch of the season.
RCD Espanyol, RC Celta (two goals), Valencia CF, Athletic Club (two goals) and Cádiz CF (two goals) have been the victims of Jackson’s scoring streak, with the forward truly stepping up at the end of what has been his first season in the Villarreal CF first team. While he made eight LaLiga Santander appearances last campaign too, he was still a B team player at the time.
Nicolas Jackson’s goalscoring explosion
Nicolas Jackson’s story is a special one. Until just a few years ago, he hadn’t played for any club and had only played football in the street in Senegal, as he himself explained in an interview with MARCA, stating: “I had always played football in the street, from a very young age. My father didn’t want me to play, because he knew that it was very difficult to make it as a professional. But, I was very stubborn and dedicated myself 100%. I left school to dedicate myself to football and, a year later, I was already playing in the first division and shortly after that Villarreal CF found me.”
Only a few years have passed between his transition to top-level football in Senegal and his recent scoring streak. In this time, the Villarreal CF forward has not stopped growing and improving. His physicality and attacking ability have impressed Setién, who was clear from the moment he arrived at Villarreal CF that Jackson was a player he could count on. The coach explained: “We already knew of Jackson’s potential, even though an injury meant he missed two months and couldn’t show it. He allows you to generate space and create play in the centre and he can finish spectacularly.”
His season has been one to remember, including his call-up to the Senegal squad for the Qatar World Cup, where he played 16 minutes in a group stage match against the Netherlands. That first call-up to the national team came before this goalscoring explosion, one that has made him a reference for the future of African football.
