Chelsea have new undroppable that Mauricio Pochettino held private talks with over discipline fears

Nicolas Jackson has emerged as the latest player to be one of the first names on the Chelsea team sheet. The Senegal international is showing his true value at Stamford Bridge.

Jackson signed for the Blues in the summer transfer window last year from Villarreal in a £30 million deal. The early months of his career in the capital saw the striker struggle to find his best form.

The striker picked up five yellow cards in his first six Premier League matches for Chelsea, which saw him handed a one-game suspension in October. At the time, he also only had one league goal to his name following his summer move from La Liga.

The January transfer window led to speculation that Chelsea could go into the market to sign a new striker. The Blues opted not to, and now they have Jackson as their starting striker.

Manager Mauricio Pochettino admitted back in February that he had talks with Jackson about his disciplinary record. The Chelsea striker currently has nine yellow cards in the top flight and is one more booking away from a two-game suspension.

«We already chat a lot,» Pochettino told reporters about Jackson's yellow card record on February 2. «Be careful with that because it then has to happen [laughs]. But we are all aware about that but if you talk about something, these things happen.»

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Pochettino added: «He [Jackson] is aware and we are aware. He needs to learn and improve. Now after one month, he is motivated to play because he didn't play too much.»

Pochettino has maintained his faith in Jackson in recent months and is already seeing the benefits,