Ex-Chelsea star John Obi Mikel reignites furious war of words with Nicolas Jackson

John Obi Mikel has once risked sparking a fiery response from Chelsea star Nicolas Jackson after calling his finishing into question.

Following a goal against Wolves in August, Jackson told fired back at Chelsea Champons League winner Mikel and told him: "Don't talk s***". The Blues forward's message came after Mikel took issue with his finishing ability when analysing Chelsea's defeat to Manchester City.

The ex-Chelsea midfielder suggested that his former team required a more reliable goalscorer. Jackson took exception to that.

Mikel has doubled-down on his assessment of the ex-Villarreal ace however. The 37-year-old did acknowledge that Jackson was a good player however.

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"I’ve always said what I’ve said about Nicolas Jackson. He is a good player, there is not once I have ever said he is a bad player," Mikel told beIN Sports.

"The only criticism is his finishing needs to be much better. In terms of giving us what we want, being in the right place at the right time, he does for the team."

Mikel added: "I don’t think he agrees to that but I think everyone will understand what I am saying. It’s not coming from a bad place, it’s a really constructive criticism."

Ruud Gullit, who was in conversation with Mikel said: "As long as he knows that himself." To which Mikel replied: "But he doesn’t. That’s why when he scored he told me to shut up!"

During the transfer window Mikel was a chief proponent in pushing for Chelsea to sign Victor Osimhen from Napoli. Mikel even appeared to be involved in the transfer discussions to facilitate the move.

“I know what Victor wanted. I know what the club offered him,” the Chelsea hero said on The Obi One podcast. “I know where we got to, we finally got to a compromise, both sides had to compromise.

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“Paperwork, medical and just a few issues that we just couldn’t get over the line and then we didn’t have much time. The one time you want the seconds, minutes and hours to slow down a bit, it just didn’t work.

“I think both sides really, really played their part in terms of getting the deal done and I commend Chelsea for that, because I could see the ambition of where they want to take this club now,” Mikel added.

“On Victor’s side, I think if we have to pick this back up, whether it’s January or next summer, we know where we are. We know where we’ve stopped and it’s just little details that need to be finalised and the deal will be done. So, for me, the club is in a very happy place with Victor; Victor is in a very happy place with the club.”

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