I thanked Aston Villa's Unai Emery one year ago - now I'm desperate to beat him for Chelsea

Nicolas Jackson will take on his former manager, Unai Emery, on Sunday afternoon when Chelsea face Aston Villa in the Premier League.

The 23-year-old striker has had a strong start to the 2024/25 campaign with seven goals and three assists across all competitions so far. For comparison, last season, he registered six assists and scored 17 across the entire campaign.

Jackson joined Chelsea in the summer of 2023 from La Liga side Villarreal, having initially joined their academy as a youngster back in 2019. Emery, who is currently in charge of Premier League side Villa, spent two years at the Spanish club between 2020 and 2022 prior to his return to England two years ago.

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Emery played a significant role in Jackson's development at Villarreal, as the Senegalese featured 27 times under the Spanish coach. Jackson had an initial loan spell at second division side CD Mirandes for the 2020/21 season before making his senior debut under Emery in October 2021.

The Villa boss helped Jackson mould his all-round game, including perfecting his composure in the penalty box. A report this week from the Daily Mail claims Emery informed the Villarreal hierarchy of his intention to fast-track Jackson, instead of signing a new striker, when key players Boulaye Dia and Paco Alcacer departed the club in the summer of 2022.

With the backing of Emery, Jackson became Villarreal's starting striker for the 2022/23 season, before the manager was poached by Villa midway through the campaign. The striker himself came close to following Emery to England in January 2023, but a move to Bournemouth fell through, and he was eventually signed by Chelsea for a figure of £32m in the summer.

After a challenging start to life in west London, as his rawness incited criticism at times, Jackson has now settled under manager Enzo Maresca. The striker signed a contract extension in September this year, and the report from the Daily Mail also notes that Jackson extended his thanks to Emery after putting pen to paper, which highlights the impact he feels the manager has had on his career.

This weekend, Jackson will hope to prove Emery right for placing his trust in him two years ago at Villarreal. Even if it means inflicting a damaging defeat on the manager's current side.