Nicolas Jackson has revealed that he came within a whisker of joining Aston Villa months before signing for Chelsea instead.

His former boss at Villarreal, Unai Emery, took the reins at Villa park in October 2022.

And he wanted to take his former striker with him, Jackson claims.

"When Unai left, he wanted me to go to Aston Villa, but I was injured," he explained. "I wanted to leave because the [new] coach came in. I had to go, but I was injured a little bit in my hamstring.

"We went there, they checked and said I needed one more month and they want me now. If they want me in one week, two weeks, I was not ready, so they had to cancel the transfer, and I went back."