Jackson happy to be 'where I'm wanted' after joining Bayern / Photo: Paul ELLIS - AFP
Jackson happy to be 'where I'm wanted' after joining Bayern
New Bayern Munich signing Nicolas Jackson said Friday he was happy to be "where I'm wanted" after joining the German giants from Premier League club Chelsea on a season-long loan.
At his official unveiling in Munich on Friday, the 24-year-old spoke about the "tough times and difficult moments" as his loan deal looked set to fall through days before the transfer window closed.
"In football, there can be a time when you want a change. I spoke to (sporting director) Max Eberl and the coach and they really wanted me to be here and they loved me.
"And as a player, you want to be there where people want you to be."
At Chelsea since 2023, Jackson fell down the pecking order after the summer arrivals of Joao Pedro and Liam Delap.
The Senegal striker had arrived in Munich in the lead-up to deadline day to sign on a season-long loan, only to be recalled by Chelsea after an injury to Delap.
Through his agent, Jackson said he would not return to London in order to push through a move to Bayern.
After initially saying they would honour Chelsea's request, the German club announced Jackson's signing hours after the transfer deadline closed, having come to an agreement with the Club World Cup winners.
"There were tough times and difficult moments, but I was very confident I would stay here because here is where I want to play and want to be," Jackson said.
Bayern reportedly agreed to a loan fee of 16.5 million euros ($19 million), the highest loan fee in their history, along with an obligation to buy for 65 million euros.
After the window closed, Bayern powerbroker Uli Hoeness told reporters the underlying conditions to trigger the purchase obligation were purposely made too difficult to satisfy.
"We only need to pay it when he starts 40 games this season. He'll never do that," Hoeness said on Tuesday.
Jackson called Hoeness "a legend of the club" but said trying to trigger the obligation was "not my decision, not my focus. My job is just to play on the pitch and score as many goals as I can and help the team win."
The former Valencia forward is in line to make his debut for the club on Saturday when Bayern host Hamburg.
L.Paterson--EWJ
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