The 40-Start Dilemma: Will Jackson Stay at Bayern or Return to Chelsea?
28 November 2025
The 40-Start Buy Clause
Nicolas Jackson, Bayern Munich's Senegalese forward on loan from Chelsea, is reportedly on track to return to Stamford Bridge by season's end, despite Bayern holding a purchase option that could keep him in Germany. The loan was arranged with a 14.2 million pound fee, and a buy option set at 56.2 million pounds, contingent on appearance milestones that bring a smile to accounting departments and a frown to players who count minutes on the pitch.
Chelsea's Attempted Exit and Jackson's Stance
Chelsea tried to cancel the agreement at the last moment after forward Liam Delap's injury, but Jackson opted to push the transfer forward with Bayern, working with his agent to keep the move alive instead of rebooting his commute to London. The saga reads like a transfer soap opera, with numbers and clauses doing the heavy lifting.
Is the 40-Start Target Realistic?
British tabloid Daily Mail reports that Jackson appears set to return to Stamford Bridge unless the 40-start requirement for the buy option can be met, a threshold he has yet to clear, having started only five times so far. That gap makes the purchase unlikely unless a dramatic reshuffle of minutes occurs.
Calendar, AFCON, and the Path Forward
Bayern's remaining schedule features roughly 23 Bundesliga fixtures and 12 Champions League ties, leaving some room for Jackson to accumulate starts. However, Africa Cup of Nations duty will sideline him for about two months, complicating the prospect of reaching 40 starts before season's end. Bayern resumes on January 11, 2026, while Senegal’s group stage wraps by January 30. If Senegal reach the final, Jackson would wait until January 18, delaying his return to club duties and potentially pushing Chelsea’s decision further into doubt.
In short, the buy option remains fragile against the calendar and international duties, potentially nudging Jackson back toward Chelsea’s fold as the season progresses.
Two punchlines to cap it off: Punchline 1: If 40 starts were the goal, Jackson’s minutes have been more like “does not start.”
Punchline 2: Chelsea’s loan algebra just got real—the test isn’t a test; it’s a cross-examination by a calendar.
