'You can go from indispensable to superfluous in a heartbeat'
There will be time to debate who has had a great tournament as the Club World Cup unfolds but one player has had a nightmare.
Nicolas Jackson may not be a name to conjure familiarity for fans across the United States but he could be ready to disappear fairly soon from the Chelsea fold.
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Nicolas has managed to get stupidly sent off in two of his past four games. Against Newcastle in the Premier League, it nearly cost Chelsea a top five finish, a place in the Champions League and a cool £50m to £100m in earnings. Chelsea got lucky and qualified by the skin of their teeth, no thanks to Nic.
If Chelsea lose to Tunis and go out of this tournament, the suits upstairs at Stamford Bridge will not be impressed with another £5m leaking out of the club due to his impetuousness.
On top of that, Jackson has suddenly gone from the 'go-to' number nine, to merely the back up for new boy Liam Delap. I was at a Chelsea supporters' event on Saturday night and the entire group had already written off Jackson in favour of Delap - and the latter has only played a combined 90 minutes of football for the club.
Jackson needs some love right now. He is a good striker and he was on an impressive upward learning curve before his injury earlier in the season. He is still one of the fastest strikers around, if not the most natural finisher.
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The problem is, I am not sure this will be enough for Chelsea now. He could do a job for a good Italian, French or Spanish side. For Chelsea it will all come down to the money offered but it just shows the vicious nature of football. You can go from indispensable to superfluous in a heartbeat - or 90 minutes at least.
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