On the floor, Jackson’s numbers at Bayern Munich final season examine favourably with these of Watkins at Villa.
The Senegal ahead scored 11 targets and supplied three assists in 1,320 minutes throughout all competitions, averaging 1.0 aim involvements per 90 minutes. Watkins recorded 21 targets and 5 assists in 3,837 minutes, a median of 0.6 per 90.
Jackson additionally generated extra attacking alternatives. He averaged 3.8 pictures per 90 in contrast with Watkins’ 2.6, and a couple of.2 pictures on course to 1.2.
His expected-goals (xG) determine was additionally increased, at 0.7 per 90 in contrast with 0.5, whereas he averaged 8.5 touches within the opposition field to Watkins’ 5.6.
That matches a sample which predates his spell in Germany. Amongst gamers with at the very least 5,000 Premier League minutes since January 2020, solely Erling Haaland has registered the next non-penalty xG determine per 90 than Jackson’s 0.55.
Moving into scoring positions has not often been Jackson’s foremost drawback – it’s his skill to complete probabilities which has attracted scrutiny.
Throughout his two Premier League seasons with Chelsea, he scored 14 targets from 18.7 xG in 2023-24 and 10 from 12.3 xG the next marketing campaign.
Jackson has transformed 18 of 61 massive probabilities in England to date, though Watkins has additionally missed loads of high-value alternatives (scoring 24 of 73 since becoming a member of Villa in 2020).
Curiously, final season’s numbers counsel the hole between them was negligible. Jackson transformed 19.6% of his pictures and 40.9% of his massive probabilities, in contrast with 18.9% and 43.2% respectively for Watkins.
There’s, nevertheless, an necessary caveat.
Watkins began 43 matches and performed virtually thrice as many minutes. Jackson began solely 15 of his 34 appearances, and Opta says his comparatively restricted, substitute-heavy pattern may make a few of his per-90 figures look stronger than they may over a full season.
