Gary Neville has jumped to the defence of Nicolas Jackson and insisted the Chelsea striker has had a positive debut season in the Premier League.

The 22-year-old made the move to Stamford Bridge from Villarreal last summer in a deal worth roughly £30m and has since scored 13 goals in 39 appearances for the Blues.

Jackson, though, has felt the heat in recent weeks in light of Chelsea's 1-0 FA Cup semi-final defeat against Manchester City, with the forward missing a handful of gilt-edged opportunities to fire Mauricio Pochettino's side ahead at Wembley.

However, Neville believes the 22-year-old has performed well in his first season in England and has a role to play for Pochettino's side going forward, even if he doesn't remain the first-choice No.9 at Stamford Bridge next season.

"I actually like Nicolas Jackson. That might be an unpopular opinion on here, but I like him," said Neville on the Gary Neville podcast. "I think he has a lot to give. He's a young player. I think they he cost...not stupid money but it's his first full season in the Premier League, he's scored quite a few goals and he keeps going.

"There's a lot to be said about that. He might not be striker number 1 but if he was your striker number two or number three in a squad of 18 to 20 players, you'd say 'I'll take that'. So for me, the performance Chelsea put in against Manchester City in the FA Cup semi-final that was a hell of a performance. Good, really good.

"And if they had a forward who could finish more consistently than Nicolas Jackson then they would have won the game, and I think that's what Chelsea's owners should be looking at. Performance standards are not consistent and they're awful when they're awful - but actually their good looks quite exciting."

Neville added: "You can see something, but they just need two or three players to glue it together. They need really good, experienced signings. They can't afford to go down the route of eight-year contracts.

"If they can get those right three players in at the end start of the season; the striker, the centre-back to replace Thiago Silva and the goalkeeper, I think, as well."

Speaking in the aftermath of Chelsea's FA Cup semi-final defeat to Manchester City last weekend, Pochettino reiterated his patience with Jackson and stressed the "fantastic" job he has done for the Blues this term.

"Football is a dynamic system and you need to adapt to the circumstances," said Pochettino. "The circumstances are a young striker arrived from Spain and then different offensive players, like Christopher Nkunku or Armando Broja, were not available in a way that would allow him to rest.

"That’s why it’s unfair not to give him the praise or credit for the effort that he has been making. He was also involved in the Africa Cup of Nations and I think he has been doing a fantastic job for the team.

"We are going to give him all the support for him to be in the future calmer in front of goal and to increase the percentage of scoring goals."

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