Champions League Shocker: How Nicolas Jackson Can Face His Own Chelsea Team
Fernando Morientes stands as the ultimate example of a loan player coming back to torment their original team, and Nicolas Jackson will have extra motivation to damage Chelsea this Wednesday evening.
A dedicated and effective player for Real Madrid since his 1997 arrival, Morientes eventually fell victim to Florentino Pérez's Galáctico strategy and found himself watching from the sidelines as 'R9' Ronaldo took over his playing time. Frustrated, Madrid approved Morientes's exit late in the 2003 summer window, believing they were safely removing him from potential conflict by arranging a loan with Monaco.
Los Blancos had no idea that a determined Morientes would be waiting for their star players in the Champions League quarterfinals. The forward netted Monaco's second away goal in the opening leg before executing his perfect revenge in the second match at the Stade Louis II. Madrid held a 5–2 aggregate advantage before Morientes set up Ludovic Giuly and found the net early in the second half to spark Monaco's victory on away goals.
Wednesday's match in Munich doesn't carry the same weight, nor have circumstances aligned for Jackson to devastate his former team, but UEFA regulations, unchanged since Morientes's era, allow the forward to compete against his parent club.
Why Nicolas Jackson Can Play for Bayern Munich vs. Chelsea
Following Chelsea's acquisition of Liam Delap and João Pedro during the summer, Enzo Maresca considered Jackson expendable and the forward ultimately moved to Bayern Munich later in the transfer period.
The Senegalese player joined on a temporary deal, with Bayern paying £14.3 million ($19.5 million) for Jackson's contributions this campaign. He will only become a permanent signing if he reaches a specified number of matches—an outcome already downplayed by Uli Hoeneß.
Harry Kane continues as Bayern's primary striker, but Jackson's arrival gives Vincent Kompany the option to rest his productive Englishman when needed. The Chelsea loan player made his Bundesliga bow as a substitute in Saturday's 5–0 demolition of Hamburg, and he's eligible to face the Blues in Wednesday night's league phase encounter.
Although loan players cannot compete against their parent club in the Premier League and FA Cup, UEFA regulations state that clubs cannot exert "any influence whatsoever over the players that another club may [or may not] field in a match."
Kane is guaranteed to start for Kompany's team in Gameweek 1, but Jackson might be summoned to trouble his former club. The likelihood of him 'pulling a Morientes' is minimal, but UEFA's regulations make it conceivable.