From Chelsea reject to Watkins 'upgrade' – Jackson makes fast Villa start

Nicolas Jackson continues an excellent start to his Aston Villa career with a match-winning double against Manchester City. Nicolas Jackson had Aston Villa's two shots on target against Manchester City – and scored them both in a 2-1 win Nicolas Jackson's double to defeat Manchester City on Saturday capped an excellent start to the striker's spell at Aston Villa. Signed from Chelsea as a direct replacement for Ollie Watkins – Villa's main source of goals for the previous six seasons – it was imperative the 25-year-old Senegal international hit the ground running in claret and blue. Jackson has done just that, scoring seven goals in his first 11 appearances for Villa – six in the last six – and helping his new side to a 100% start in the Champions League and spearheading their recovery after a slow start to the Premier League campaign.

"The players, the manager, the team – everything is incredible," Jackson told BBC Match of the Day. "I'm very happy that I'm here and hopefully we can do amazing things together." Jackson spent two full seasons at Chelsea after joining in 2023 and had a year on loan at German giants Bayern Munich before moving to Villa in the summer for a deal worth up to £65m. There is a much smaller sample size from his