I believe Nicolas Jackson can win the Ballon d'Or at Chelsea - I tell him all the time

Former Chelsea defender Kalidou Koulibaly has sent an inspiring message to fellow Senegal international and Blues striker Nicolas Jackson, suggesting that he has the talent to win the Ballon d'Or award.

Enzo Maresca has placed full faith in Jackson since his arrival this summer. During his maiden 2023/24 campaign in London the striker was subject to some amount of criticism for chances he wasted compared to those he scored, but still only 23-years-old he has shown willingness and capability in taking on the mantle of Chelsea's chief goalscorer.

Last term he netted 17 goals with six assists in 44 total appearances, now in the current campaign he has six goals and three assists to his name from 12 outings.

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Removing Erling Haaland's insane record from the standings, he sits only two strikes behind the joint-second place trio of Mohamed Salah, Bryan Mbeumo and Chris Wood in the Premier League - a competition in which the Blues sit third as things stand.

And keeping an eye on his countryman's progress even after departing Stamford Bridge for Al-Hilal just days before Jackson's £32m arrival, Koulibaly is confident the striker can continue to grow to the point where he will be recognised as one of the world's best.

"Nico Jackson has to believe he can be world class. All the players who have won the Ballon d'Or believed they could. So you have to put this in Nico’s head," the 33-year-old central defender advised, via Fabrizio Romano.

He made sure to remind Jackson to remain a team-player in this endeavour, but ultimately predicts he can win football's most-coveted individual accolade.

"I don't tell him to be selfish and ignore his teammates, but he has to think about the Ballon d'Or. If you put this image in his head, he can achieve it. And that's what I tell him all the time"

As a show of faith just weeks into the new season, Jackson agreed a bumper contract extension through to 2033.