If you start scoring, I'll shut up - Mikel Obi responds to Nicolas Jackson

Chelsea legend, Mikel Obi, has responded to Nicolas Jackson, stating that he will only stop talking about the striker if he starts scoring.

Jackson lashed out at Mikel for criticizing him after a poor performance against Manchester City in the opening week of the Premier League.

Mikel, speaking on his podcast "The Obi One," clarified that he does not hate the Senegalese as perceived, rather, he only demands that the striker improve his finishing.

“I really like the guy as a football player. I like him; there is something there as a football player.

“I haven’t said he is a bad player at all. I’ve just said that his finishing qualities are not there yet. He is a young boy, and all I’ve said is that he needs a more experienced striker to come into the football club to help him," he said.

Mikel also noted that he would like to see Jackson excel, and he will 'shut up' as the player demands if he scores weekly.

“I’d like to see him do well, you know, in the club. If he plays well, I will praise him. If there is something to be said about him where he needs to improve, I will definitely say it. When you know, listen, if he scores every week and tells me to shut up, I’ll take that."

Mikel Obi's defensive response comes after Jackson told him to 'shut up' following the initial criticism.

Jackson, after scoring in Chelsea's big win over Wolves on August 25, 2024, took to Instagram to warn the club legend.

"Shut your mouth, don’t talk sh*t, we are killing ourselves for Africa," he wrote on his Instagram story while tagging Mikel.

Mikel, in what was deemed as brutal criticism, highlighted Jackson's poor finishing in Chelsea's 2-0 defeat to Manchester City on matchday one and opined that the club would need a goal-poacher to lead the team’s forward line.

"You need a striker who knows how to hit a ball in the back of the net, and that’s what we don’t have," he said on beIN Sports. "I know I talk so much about him and sometimes I sound like I disrespect him. I don’t disrespect him. I think at Chelsea Football Club we need a top striker who can get us a goal," he said during punditry duty on beIN Sports.

Nicolas Jackson scored Chelsea's first goal of the season when he opened the scoring in their 6-2 win over Wolves at the Molineux Stadium.

EE/EK