by Chelsea boss Enzo Maresca says there is more to come from Nicolas Jackson.
The Senegalese striker has scored seven goals in 12 Premier League appearances this season, opening the scoring in Saturday’s 2-1 win at Leicester.
He was also credited with an assist for Enzo Fernandez’s goal which gave Chelsea a 2-0 lead at the King Power Stadium.
“For me, he is doing very well,” Maresca said. “I’ve said it many times, since we started, he works hard with and without the ball.
“He makes an effort to understand the way we want to play.
“Sometimes we almost use him as a midfielder, dropping it. Sometimes we use it to attack from behind. If you remember Brighton, or even today. It depends on the game plan.
“We are very happy with the way Nico plays with the ball, but especially the way he plays without the ball – the way he presses.
“At the moment we are very happy and we are sure that he will improve game by game.”
Chelsea won without Malo Gusto and Pedro Neto at the King Power but neither has serious problems.
“Malo was with us but during the night he unfortunately didn’t feel well,” Maresca added.
“Pedro, he had a problem with his international team. There was a chance he could be with us, but we didn’t take any risks for this game and hopefully he can be available for the next game.
Leicester suffered more injury problems as Harry Winks limped off in the first half.
The former Tottenham midfielder’s withdrawal saw the hosts lose control in midfield.
“It’s his groin,” said boss Steve Cooper. “We keep our fingers crossed. Sometimes these things can last a week, sometimes they can last… we saw what happened with Ricardo (Pereira).
“This adds to a phase we are going through with injuries. This has not been a clean week.
“A few days ago there were a lot of guys that I didn’t think would be fit to play, but they were able to prepare.
“When I talked about needing to do better with the ball, Winksy will start that more than anyone for us.
“It’s his super strength, his control of matches and his ability to initiate attacks and maintain momentum in the game.
“It was a big blow, his exit, and maybe that interfered with why we didn’t have enough good moments with the ball in the first half.”
