The agent representing Nicolas Jackson confirms the striker had been ‘close to signing for Milan, but then Chelsea came along’ and snapped him up.
The 22-year-old Senegal international had impressed coming through the Villarreal youth academy to the senior squad and made the transfer to Stamford Bridge in July for a reported €37m.
It could’ve been very different, because the Rossoneri’s long search for a centre-forward had also gone through this target.
“He did well at Villarreal and many different offers came in,” agent Diomansy Kamara told USCatanzaroCalcioNews.it.
“We were close to signing for Milan, but then Chelsea came along and we went there instead.”
Kamara was speaking to the site because he is a former Catanzaro player and therefore has experience of playing in Italy.
Jackson has made six appearances for Chelsea this season in all competition, scoring one goal.
He had caught the attention of Milan and the Blues by bagging 13 and assisting five in 38 games for Villarreal last term.
The Rossoneri continued their search for a striker right to the final minutes of the transfer window, when they secured Luka Jovic for free from Fiorentina.