Epic Sports client Jackson accepts Villa project
Epic Sports client Nicolas Jackson is close to joining Aston Villa from Chelsea after saying yes to Unai Emery’s project.
The deal is now at the very final stage, with Chelsea set to accept a £65m package from Villa. Final approval is still needed on the last details, but the agreement is now moving toward completion and a medical will follow if everything is cleared.
Jackson has spoken directly with Emery, and that conversation has been important. The pair worked together at Villarreal, where Jackson’s rise in Spain first pushed him into the Premier League market. Now Villa are trying to reunite player and coach in Birmingham.
Emery pushes for a striker he knows
This is not a blind recruitment move from Aston Villa.
Emery knows Jackson’s game, mentality and development path from their Villarreal period. That connection gives Villa a strong advantage because the striker is not choosing only a club. He is choosing a coach who already understands how to use him.
Jackson’s best football has often come when he is trusted as a mobile, aggressive forward rather than treated as a fixed penalty-box striker. He attacks channels, presses defenders, carries the ball in transition and can create chaos around the final third.
Villa need that profile. Ollie Watkins’ future has been tied to interest from Al-Hilal, and Villa have been preparing for a major attacking reset. Jackson would arrive as a direct No.9 option, but also as a forward who can stretch games and open space for runners behind him.
Chelsea ready to sell
Chelsea are now prepared to move Jackson on after a complicated two-year cycle.
He joined Chelsea from Villarreal in 2023 and showed flashes of serious quality, especially during his first Premier League season. But the squad changed, the attacking hierarchy shifted, and his pathway became less clear after Chelsea added more forwards.
FootballAgencies already covered how Jackson returned from Bayern Munich for a fresh Chelsea assessment, but the market has now moved in a different direction. Xabi Alonso’s Chelsea have João Pedro, Liam Delap, Morgan Rogers and other attacking options, making a £65m sale a logical financial and sporting decision.
Chelsea would be receiving a major fee for a player they signed for around £32m, while Villa get a striker still entering his peak years.
The numbers behind the move
Jackson’s latest season was spent on loan at Bayern Munich, where he played mainly behind Harry Kane but still kept his market alive.
FootballAgencies’ earlier report listed him with 22 Bundesliga appearances, seven goals and one assist. In the Champions League, he added three goals in 10 appearances. Other reports around the Villa race credited him with 11 goals and four assists across the Bayern spell.
Those numbers were not enough for Bayern to trigger a permanent deal, but they were strong enough to show that Jackson remained a high-level forward. He delivered in Germany, played Champions League football and added silverware experience before returning to Chelsea.
His Chelsea record also still matters. Before the Bayern loan, Jackson had already shown he could score and create in the Premier League, even if consistency and discipline were questioned at times.
Agency angle
This is another major Premier League deal for Ali Barat and Epic Sports.
Jackson has been one of Epic’s key clients through several important career moments: Villarreal to Chelsea, Chelsea to Bayern, and now Chelsea to Aston Villa. Each move has required a different kind of agency work. The Chelsea transfer was about entering the Premier League. The Bayern loan was about protecting minutes and visibility. The Villa deal is about finding the right long-term project.
Barat’s agency has become known for high-value, complex transfers involving major clubs, structured fees and player-pathway planning. Jackson to Villa fits that pattern perfectly: a big Premier League fee, a coach relationship, a striker needing clarity and a club ready to make him central.
Final green light now awaited
The transfer is close, but not officially complete.
Chelsea are set to accept the £65m package, Jackson has accepted the Villa project, and Emery has personally helped drive the move. Now the remaining details need final approval before the striker can undergo his medical.
If completed, Nicolas Jackson will become one of Aston Villa’s biggest-ever signings and a major statement of intent from Emery’s side. For Chelsea, it would be another significant outgoing in a busy attacking reshuffle. For Epic Sports and Ali Barat, it would be another major Premier League transaction built around timing, trust and the right sporting fit.
