CHELSEA SUFFER TRANSFER BLOW WITH NICOLAS JACKSON SET FOR SHOCK RETURN FROM BAYERN MÜNCHEN

Nicolas Jackson left Chelsea to join Byern Munich on loan (Picture: Bayern Munich)

Bayern Munich chief Uli Hoeness says Nicolas Jackson will return to Chelsea next summer and will ‘definitely not’ sign a permanent contract with the German champions.

Jackson’s Chelsea career appeared to be over after he joined Bayern Munich on transfer deadline day on an initial loan deal.

Bayern reportedly paid an initial £14m to sign Jackson on loan for the rest of the 2025-26 season, and would sign him permanently next summer for £56m if he made a set number of appearances.

That looked like superb business for Chelsea, who signed Jackson for £32m two summers ago and were open to offers following the signings of Joao Pedro and Liam Delap.

But Bayern chief Hoeness has revealed Jackson needs to start 40 games to earn a permanent move to Munich, something he says ‘will never happen’.

‘The player and his agent contribute for €3m, so we pay €13.5m loan fee,’ he told German TV channel SPORT1.

Bayern Munich’ chief Uli Hoeness (Picture: Getty)

‘There will definitely not be a permanent contract. That only happens if he plays 40 games from the start, it will never happen.’

Jackson is not expected to start for Bayern Munich this summer and will play back-up to England captain Harry Kane.

Following his departure from Chelsea, Jackson said: ‘I’m really happy to now be part of this great club. Bayern is one of the best clubs in the world.

‘Everyone knows the names of the legends who’ve played here and knows that this club stands for the greatest success.

Jackson spent two seasons at Stamford Bridge (Picture: Getty)

‘I’ve got big goals and dreams here and will give my all to help Bayern win further titles.’

Jackson enjoyed a promising first season at Stamford Bridge, scoring 17 goals in all competitions, but went backwards last term.

Chelsea were willing to sanction his summer move after signing Brazilian forward Pedro from Brighton and English striker Delap from Ipswich Town.

The Blues briefly considered blocking Jackson’s departure after Delap’s recent injury but eventually sanctioned his deadline-day move to Bayern Munich.

Jackson admitted he was ‘a little sad’ to leave Chelsea despite signing for ‘one of the biggest clubs in the world’.

‘I was simply very happy to sign for one of the biggest clubs in the world, to discover another league and other great players,’ he said.

‘At the same time, I was a little sad to leave Chelsea, my teammates, and the fans. I experienced so many strong emotions there: we won the Conference League and the Club World Cup.

‘Now I’m 100% focused on my new project and I can’t wait to experience the incredible atmosphere at the Allianz Arena.’

- Louis Sealey

ROMANO REVEALS WORLD RECORD 'DEAL AGREED' AS BLUES MAKE 'DIRECT CALL' FOR £78M STAR

Fabrizio Romano with the latest Chelsea transfer updates.

Chelsea have reached an astonishing agreement with Bayern Munich for Nicolas Jackson as Fabrizio Romano reveals the Blues held a ‘direct call’ over a new playmaker after signing Facundo Buonanotte from Brighton on Friday.

The Blues have signed both Joao Pedro and Liam Delap as new strikers this summer which pushed Jackson down he pecking order, and although Chelsea preferred his permanent sale, Bayern have agreed to pay €15m [£13m] to take him for the season, which amount to a world record fee for a loan.

Fabrizio Romano took to X to reveal the astonishing deal: ‘EXCL: Nicolas Jackson to Bayern, here we go! Deal agreed with Chelsea on initial loan move. €15m loan fee for one season plus buy option clause not mandatory for €80m package and sell-on clause. Jackson, set to fly to Bavaria with his agent Ali Barat from Epic Sports.’

The move pushes Chelsea into the black this summer, with their net spend almost exactly zero once Alejandro Garnacho’s been officially confirmed as a new player after joining from Manchester United, with Christopher Nkunku’s sale to AC Milan offsetting that cost.

They’ve been targeting further attacking players, and after Tottenham beat them to the signing of Xavi Simons, Romano revealed on Friday that they’ve bolstered their ranks with Buonanotte, who impressed on loan at Leicester from Brighton last season.

Romano wrote on X: BREAKING: ‘Facundo Buonanotte to Chelsea, here we go! Deal in place with loan move and there’s no buy option clause included. Understand Chelsea will have chance to match future bids and get Buonanotte if they can agree with Brighton. Exclusive story, confirmed.’

But despite reports to the contrary, the 20-year-old’s signing has not caused Chelsea to walk away from a possible deal for Barcelona’s Fermin Lopez.

Spanish outlet Mundo Deportivo claim the Blues ‘will go all out’ to sign the Spain international – who’s valued at €90m [£78m] by Barcelona – in what remains of the transfer window, with their resolve strengthened having missed out on Simons.

And Romano confirmed on Friday evening that Chelsea held further talks with Fermin’s representatives after landing Buonanotte and wait for the midfielder’s decision.

“Even after signing Facundo Buonanotte, Chelsea had a new direct call with the agents of Fermin Lopez to try to understand the situation,” Romano said on his YouTube channel.

“But Chelsea and Barca are both waiting to see what Fermin Lopez wants to do.

“In Spain, the media said he would release a statement on Friday clarifying his future but he didn’t do that, let’s see what happens on Saturday. Club-to-club talks will only advance when their is an indication from the player.

“Barcelona maintain belief that Fermin will not go”

MANCHESTER UNITED SET TO COMPLETE £62.5M SIGNING OF WOLVES' MATHEUS CUNHA

Matheus Cunha gets away from Yehor Yarmolyuk of Brentford.Photograph: Anna Gowthorpe/Shutterstock

Manchester United are poised to sign Matheus Cunha after triggering the £62.5m release clause in the Wolves forward’s contract. United have agreed to split the fee in three payments across the next two years.

Wolves rejected United’s attempt to stagger the payment across five years but now the Brazilian is set to become Ruben Amorim’s first summer signing after a hugely disappointing season.

The signing is expected to be a formality from here and he could be the first of several summer arrivals for United. He has already agreed personal terms and will undergo a medical in the coming days. Amorim is also keen on signing the Ipswich forward Liam Delap, who has a release clause of £30m after relegation from the Premier League.

Cunha has impressed across his two and a half years at Wolves, for whom he scored 15 goals this season to pull them clear of relegation trouble. He joined from RB Leipzig in January 2023, initially on loan, before completing a £43m permanent move.

He signed a new contract on deadline day in February on the basis that his new deal would contain a release clause amid interest from Arsenal, Aston Villa and Nottingham Forest.

Meanwhile, United are expected to be open to selling Alejandro Garnacho if they receive an offer that matches their valuation of about £60m. United are also keen to offload Marcus Rashford, who spent the second half of the season on loan at Aston Villa, and Antony, who has shone on loan at Conference League finalists Real Betis.

- Ben Fisher

LIAM DELAP DOUBLE EARNS IPSWICH TOWN DRAW WITH ASTON VILLA

Liam Delap's brace ensured the points were shared between Aston Villa and Ipswich Town at Portman Road on Sunday.
Julian Finney/Getty Images

Ipswich Town played out a fourth straight Premier League draw after they held Aston Villa 2-2 on Sunday at Portman Road where Liam Delap opened the scoring for the home side before grabbing the equaliser in the second half.

Morgan Rogers and Ollie Watkins scored for Villa in the first half before Delap grabbed his second but neither side could find a winner as promoted Ipswich continue to wait for a first win on their return to the Premier League.

Villa missed the chance to go level on points with leaders Liverpool as Unai Emery's side are in fifth place on 13 points -- behind Chelsea on goal difference -- while Ipswich are 15th with four points.

"It was really good and we showed what we are about from minute one and we created so many chances. It was a really good result for us and we probably deserved the win after the second half performance," Delap told Sky Sports.

"I think it's the fourth time we've got something from a game so we are happy."

In an end-to-end first half, Ipswich took an early lead when Villa failed to clear the ball and Jack Clarke cut the ball back for Delap, whose first-time shot slipped through goalkeeper Emiliano Martínez's glove even though he had the near post covered.

But Villa responded seven minutes later when Jacob Greaves gave the ball away in a poor clearance, with Rogers picking it up in the box and playing a one-two with Watkins before firing home the equaliser.

Portman Road was quickly silenced when Leon Bailey whipped in a cross that took out both Ipswich centre backs and Watkins made it 2-1 with a header for his fourth goal of the season.

Ipswich had two glorious opportunities to level but Martinez came to Villa's rescue when he palmed away a rocket of a shot from Kalvin Phillips before sticking a leg out to deny Delap when he was clean through on goal.

The game calmed down in the second half but Ipswich were in the ascendancy and they equalised on a counter-attack after 72 minutes when Delap beat the offside trap and got the better of Diego Carlos with a sublime shimmy before beating Martinez.

"They always put a lot of pressure on us and we couldn't really implement our game plan," Watkins said.

"Ipswich were always on to us and it was a bit of a basketball game, which is what they wanted but we didn't. It was a difficult game and I think a point is a fair result."

Game Information

Portman Road

4:00 PM, September 29, 2024

Coverage: USA Net/Tele

Ipswich, England

Line: AVL -0.5

Over/Under: 2.5

Attendance: 29,943

Referees: Stuart Attwell