FC Bayern will soon be without Nicolas Jackson as coach Vincent Kompany talks about the development of the on-loan striker
FC Bayern will have to do without Nicolas Jackson in the coming weeks. The attacker will travel to the Africa Cup after the Bundesliga match against Mainz and is therefore temporarily unavailable to the record champions. Coach Vincent Kompany made it clear at the pre-match press conference just how important Jackson is to the team – both on a sporting and personal level
Kompany first confirmed the timing of his departure and emphasised the importance of the tournament for African players: „My information is that he will travel to the Africa Cup with Senegal after the game against Mainz. We hope that he gets as far as possible. Of course I want Congo to win, but otherwise I wish him all the best. For the African players, you shouldn’t underestimate how important this competition is.“
Kompany spoke about Jackson’s role in the squad: „I am very positive about Nicolas Jackson. He has helped us a lot – he has a good goals per minutes played ratio. Of course, with Harry Kane up front as a striker, you have a bit of competition and that’s part of it.“
Kompany on Jackson: „What many people don’t see…“
Kompany is particularly impressed by how professionally the on-loan Chelsea FC striker deals with this situation: „Then it’s a luxury for me as a coach how Nicolas deals with it.“ The Belgian emphasized that many things are not visible to outsiders, but Jackson is hugely appreciated internally: „What many people don’t see is what Nicolas does in training and every time he comes in.“
Kompany also cited a specific example from the Champions League. In the match against Sporting Lisbon, he had actually planned to substitute Jackson, but the course of the game put a spanner in the works: „I wanted to bring him on against Sporting, then Lenny’s goal came and I had a completely different game plan again.“ Kompany continued: „Hopefully he’ll continue to make the most of his moments.“