After 22 Premier League matches last season, Nicolas Jackson had scored seven goals and assisted two. The first half of his debut year in England had proved just as frustrating as it had been impressive, with more yellow cards than match-winning contributions.

What he would go on to show following a return from the African Cup of Nations is exactly why Chelsea deemed a raw left-wing talent at Villarreal worthy of £30million and so much trust. Six months before moving to Stamford Bridge, he could easily have joined Bournemouth instead.

It is easy to forget, among the noise and criticism of him in recent weeks, that despite this being his second season in the Premier League, Jackson is still only 23. He has played 21 times domestically and has nine goals with four assists. There has been evident improvement not only in his output but also general play.

Jackson has not yet proven to be consistent over a long stretch but is capable of bursts of form that can carry a team. Even when he is not scoring, he is usually creating room for his teammates or occupying defenders. Neither can be totally quantified but are truly advantageous.

He started the season under Enzo Maresca with eight goals and three assists in 13 games, none coming from penalties. Combine that with his form at the back end of last term, where he added seven goals and three assists from the last 13 games; his record over 10 months prior to December was 15 goals and six assists, all from open play in 26 appearances.

For a forward who gives so much more out-of-possession and can also dribble, link play effectively, and is a tactical dream, it was exactly what Chelsea had been looking for. The issue, which has come at a bad time for Jackson, is that he is six league games without a goal during a run that saw Maresca go winless in five.

It is his equal longest run without a goal since joining, and the highlights will show that he has spurned some big chances. When games are decided by the odd goal, missing a stone-cold killer becomes all the more obvious.

Although he was relatively peripheral to the action on Monday against Wolves, Jackson might easily have had a hat-trick one week earlier when Bournemouth visited. He had three good opportunities away to Crystal Palace as well and did find himself in good areas to score before Christmas in the visit to Everton.

In setting up Palmer's opener against the Cherries, he showed the best of his game, turning away from three opposition players before sliding in a neat pass off his diagonal run. Jackson is capable of these flashes of sheer world-class brilliance at any stage, just not quite often enough yet to propel a team on his own all the time. In his defence, very few are.

The good news is that his chances haven't dried up. It would be more of a concern if he simply wasn't finding himself involved. He can also point towards needing others across the pitch to step up.

Jackson's goals and assists have contributed directly to seven of Chelsea's points this season. Take out his work and they would be considerably worse off. In a run of matches that has seen three draws and one narrow defeat, Chelsea can reasonably also look towards lady luck and general variance as a cause for the drop-off.

That is rarely an acceptable excuse, though, so Jackson has come under the microscope. Maybe the biggest problem for him is that having come in as one of three sounded out to play up front for Mauricio Pochettino, Jackson has played almost exclusively as first choice.

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He was never afforded a settling in period and had to hit the ground running out of nowhere. It isn't a massive obstacle for an ambitious player who has intentions of climbing the ladder of world football, but Jackson has had little support in the process.

Christopher Nkunku's injury issues last year and Armando Broja's own troubles meant that Jackson carried the burden of Chelsea's attack much earlier than anticipated. His performances warranted being Maresca's main No.9 this season, but once more, any semblance of backup just hasn't been there. Nkunku does not thrive as a sole striker, and Marc Guiu arrived as a raw 18-year-old ready only for Conference League minutes instead.

Jackson, therefore, has had nowhere to hide during his tough spell. He has lacked someone else to take the load from him in recent weeks, and it is visibly affecting his confidence.

Prior to the Wolves match, he showed frustration and disappointment when failing to score in the warm-up and was left with his head in his hands on the floor after missing a late chance. Jackson currently looks like someone in need of a rest and a proper one because even when he is replaced in matches, it comes late on (often after the 75th minute), with Nkunku doing little to threaten his spot.

So, in the January window, it is no surprise that Chelsea are linked with signing new strikers. Over the summer it was Victor Osimhen's basket that the club placed all their eggs into. Ivan Toney was briefly a deadline day target. Benjamin Sesko was looked at before he committed himself to RB Leipzig.

Chelsea have distanced themselves from Viktor Gyokeres previously, but his unmatched goalscoring remains hard to ignore. Liam Delap, who was also mentioned as an outside name last year, has shown just why Manchester City rated him so highly.

It is the latter who is one of the players to watch in 2025. Delap has scored eight goals in the league this season for a struggling Ipswich Town side. The two most recent of those have come from penalties, but Delap also earned the one against Chelsea himself and has laid on for teammates twice as well.

His play as a true outlet for a relegation-threatened side has been mightily impressive. Delap is also 21, so he suits the Chelsea transfer model, whereas Osimhen (26), Gyokeres (26), and Toney (28) are all old for the club's current age profile. That does not rule them out, although the noises from around the footballing world are that Chelsea have become favourites to land Delap.

Each of the main three - discounting Toney after his move to Saudi Arabia - would pose serious questions for Jackson and the squad being built. Delap, for starters, would need to continue his development in order to become closer to the finished article that Chelsea fans are crying out for.

Olivier Giroud is the go-to example of an experienced head helping an up-and-coming striker at SW6 when he worked in tandem with Tammy Abraham under Frank Lampard and Thomas Tuchel between 2019 and 2021. Jackson himself looks to need someone similar, but Delap would be more direct competition instead.

The pair both demand a large amount of minutes and will not be happy to be on the bench. Across a season with European football and domestic cup competitions, there is still plenty to share, but rarely in modern football does not having an out-and-out first choice pay off. Depth and options are one thing, but helping two young players to rise with only one position available is quite another.

Conversely, where Delap is still growing and needs the pitch time to continue that progress - much like Jackson - Gyokeres and Osimhen are much more in the mould of a win-now signing. They are both hitting their peak and can let their incredible past few years do the talking when it comes to commanding a regular spot.

That would effectively relegate Jackson to second-choice, which isn't something his own arc insists on. It's a problem for Chelsea, as there is no simple answer to which dynamic is best to go with. Delap may well be available for around £45million or less if Ipswich don't beat the drop. He is the cheapest and youngest of the available options.

The English target man has skills and a physical makeup to offer things Jackson does not, even if he is improving in his hold-up play, making a combination of the two extremely exciting on paper. There is no guarantee that he would be reliable right now in the role next to Jackson as immediately as Chelsea would like, though.

The trade-off is that buying one of Osimhen, for upwards of £70million, or Gyokeres, likely £60million or more himself, could hamper Jackson. The logic is that in doing that, Chelsea land themselves someone able to contribute right now at a top level.

It is not an easy choice, especially with the underlying numbers painting a good picture for Jackson. It is still one that Chelsea need to make soon and need to get right.