Aston Villa and Atletico Madrid locked in epic transfer battle for Nicolas Jackson as Chelsea flop agrees personal terms

ASTON Villa and Atletico Madrid have both agreed personal terms with Chelsea striker Nicolas Jackson. Now it is a race to the finish between Villa and the Spanish side to seal a £65m deal with the Blues. Nicolas Jackson is nearing a Chelsea exit Credit: Getty Jackson, 25, spent last season on loan at Bayern Munich Credit: Getty Villa are ahead because their negotiations to sell Ollie Watkins to Al-Hilal are at an advanced stage. Atletico are trying to resolve the future of Argentina star Julian Alvarez, with both Barcelona and Arsenal interested. Sign up for the Football newsletter Thank you! TRANSFER NEWS LIVE: ALL THE LATEST FROM THE SUMMER WINDOW But selling Alvarez is more complex because the forward favours Barca over the Gunners while his current club would prefer not to let him go to a domestic rival. Both clubs are pushing hard for Jackson as they try to secure a striker before the close of the transfer window next Tuesday. Villa have been linked with Jackson since Chelsea made it clear he was surplus to requirements last summer. Boss Unai Emery gave Jackson his first-team debut at Villarreal and is eager to work with him again. The Senegal striker’s style of play would fit well into the hole left by Watkins if the England international completes a move to Al-Hilal. The Saudi club have had four bids rejected already and will have to stump up £50m to persuade Villa to sell. Most read in Football BEST FREE BETS AND BETTING SIGN UP OFFERS As SunSport revealed, Jackson’s potential move to Villa Park is more complicated because of Uefa and PL rules. Chelsea signed Morgan Rogers from Villa in late July for £117m, so a Jackson transfer in the other direction during this window would fall within 45 days. The two transfers would then be regarded by Uefa as a swap deal, which would have implications for how much profit each club could register on their books. The Blues cannot send Jackson to Villa on an initial loan because PL regulations say clubs cannot have more than one player on a temporary transfer at the same PL club. Alejando Garnacho joined Villa for the season, with an option to buy, after Rogers moved to Stamford Bridge. Chelsea and Villa are both operating under Uefa settlement agreements after previously breaking financial rules. Ollie Watkins is edging closer to a Saudi switch Credit: Getty Further breaches would bring additional fines and other punishments. But Villa have also sold Youri Tielemans and Ezri Konsa this summer. If Watkins followed them out of the door, Villa may have brought in enough money to allow them to take a hit on their Rogers profit. Emery desperately needs reinforcements up front, with centre forwards Tammy Abraham and Brian Madjo both injured. Chelsea still have more to do to balance their books, despite Liam Delap moving to Nottingham Forest in a deal worth up to £50m. But if Manchester City come back to the table with a bid of £120m or more for Enzo Fernandez, the profit from any sale of Jackson could be less important. Even if the Blues then splashed some of that cash on Bournemouth’s Alex Scott. Julian Alvarez’s future is set to be resolved before the transfer deadline Credit: Shutterstock Editorial Comment now