CHELSEA are backing Nicolas Jackson following his red card rumpus at Newcastle.The striker is now banned for the rest of the season after being sent off for serious foul play in Sunday’s 2-0 defeat.Nicolas Jackson is out for the season following his red card at NewcastleCredit: GettyThe striker swung an elbow at Sven BotmanCredit: ReutersBut the club is sticking by their man and accept that offences such as his elbow on Toon defender Sven Botman comes with the territory.Jackson was at the Chelsea training ground on Monday, less than 24 hours after receiving his first dismissal of the season.He did not feel the need to apologise and the management have not asked for one. Instead, it was business as usual.The top brass at Stamford Bridge believe Jackson is still learning the art of self-discipline after joining Chelsea from Spanish side Villareal in 2023 and that it will come in time.The player admits his stray arm into the face of centre-half Botman was rash and hopes to make up for it by scoring in the Conference League final against Real Betis later this month.There have been wild claims that his red card and subsequent three-game domestic ban could cost Chelsea £100million if the team fails to qualify for the Champions League in his absence.Maresca’s team is in the final qualifying spot in fifth place with just two games to go.CASINO SPECIAL – BEST CASINO BONUSES FROM £10 DEPOSITSBut sources have pointed out that Chelsea were already losing when Jackson got his marching orders in the 36th minute at St. James’ Park.There is no doubt that Jackson dropped a clanger but as far as the player and Chelsea are concerned, the matter is now closed.How Newcastle bamboozled Chelsea in battle for Champions League CHELSEA’S appointment of Reece James as captain seemed like a perfect marriage last summer.But with 42 per cent of marriages ending in divorce, it could be this one next.Enzo Maresca’s tactical bid to have the Blues competing for major trophies next season has seen him identify a favourite XI in his last three Premier League games, which has Moises Caicedo at right-back, with Romeo Lavia and Enzo Fernandez in midfield.That has seen natural marauding full-back James mostly feature in Lavia’s absences this season, which is not what you expect from the club captain and the team’s highest earner.However, with Caicedo seeming to be consistency personified and hardly ever missing a game, it might be Andrey Santos, currently on loan at Strasbourg, who fills in for Lavia when he’s unavailable next season.Club captain Reece James is at risk of being deemed surplus to requirementsCredit: GettyIf this is the case, James could easily fall by the wayside next year, something a player of his obvious quality will not be happy with.James will certainly have suitors, having previously been linked with some of Europe’s top sides, and it wouldn’t surprise many if Chelsea were to lap up a bit of pure profit for PSR reasons if he isn’t being utilised.Maresca has previously said that he views Chelsea’s No24 as a midfielder rather than a right-back, similarly to how he was used on loan at Wigan, so it remains to be seen whether he will adapt and thrive in this system or whether he will be a victim of the gaffer’s tactical nuance.JACKSON’S silly red card against Newcastle bizarrely saw Chelsea look a better side in the second half on Tyneside.The Senegalese frontman could even miss the first game of the 25/26 campaign if he is punished with a three-game ban for serious foul play.He has been Maresca’s first-choice striker when fit this season, but has undeniably not been his best since his return from a muscular injury in April.With more cards than goal contributions in 2025, a worrying stat for any forward, Jackson has remained Chelsea’s most threatening player in that position with Christopher Nkunku seeming tame and Marc Guiu being injured.In Jackson’s injury absence, Pedro Neto played as a striker, so we may see that against Manchester United on Friday, or it could be that Cole Palmer plays as a false-nine as we saw in the second half against Newcastle.Tyrique George could lead Chelsea’s line for the remainder of the campaignCredit: GettyIf Maresca is brave, however, it might be time for youngster Tyrique George to make the end of the season his own.The 19-year-old is the first academy graduate to play in the first team without a prior move on loan since now-Forest star Callum Hudson-Odoi in 2018, and announced himself to the Premier League with an equalising goal in the win over Fulham after replacing Jackson.Despite his age, he has shown few signs of feeling the weight of playing in the Premier League on his shoulders, and would surely revel in the chance to make more of a name for himself in such a vital stage of the season.CHELSEA’S Champions League push is starting to cause anxiety for some of their academy graduates.SunSport has already detailed the £70m hit the club’s finances will take if they miss out on a top-five spot.The Blues ownership have already taken inventive steps to avoid potential financial penalties, including selling the women’s team and hotels to themselves.There is not an endless list of assets the club can shift around to balance the books, though.That means more traditional methods – selling players – will take priority again.And there are fears among some agents that first-team stars, such as captain James and defender Levi Colwill, could be up for sale.Selling Levi Colwill and other academy graduates would generate pure profitCredit: GettyBecause academy graduates have never cost the club a penny in transfer fees, they are worth far more when it comes to filing the accounts.The Blues have always made good money from their academy products, whether under Roman Abramovich or the American ownership.Fees brought in for the likes of Conor Gallagher, Mason Mount and Ruben Loftus-Cheek have gone down as “pure profit” in accounting terms – giving the club far more spending power.So, should they miss out on the Champions League payday, offloading more academy kids may be the only way forwards.WHAT a turnaround for Trevoh Chalobah.Last August, he was part of the infamous Chelsea ‘bomb squad’ with no future at the club under boss Maresca, then farmed out on loan to Crystal Palace.The defender has since been recalled as an emergency and last Thursday took over as captain for the last 20 minutes of the Conference League semi-final against Djurgarden.The poor bloke’s head must be spinning.Trevoh Chalobah’s future is up in the air again after a whirlwind seasonCredit: PACentre-half Chalobah has also been deputising at right-back at times and deserves enormous credit for what he has done.It’s believed he wasn’t too keen to return to Chelsea in January as cover when Wesley Fofana picked up his latest injury and Benoit Badisahile followed him on to the treatment table, leaving boss Maresca painfully short at the back.And who can blame him? Chalobah felt wanted at Palace and was recalled to Stamford Bridge in the most recent transfer window knowing the score.The season ends in a week-and-a-half’s time and Chalobah will once again face an uncertain future.There’s every reason to believe that he will be sold this time instead of loaned because he is an academy graduate. And the small act of making him skipper – albeit for just 20 minutes – last week in a competitive game will only strengthen the Chelsea transfer department’s arm when it comes to negotiating the price.Chalobah, 25, has been a consistent and versatile performer in the second half of the season for Chelsea and with 17 years under his belt as a Blues player, he knows the club’s DNA.Meanwhile, Fofana continues to battle with fitness problems and Axel Disasi has been loaned to Aston Villa, leaving Maresca needing bodies now to fill his back four.If Chelsea do sell Chalobah, it will be to their gain financially but perhaps their loss in the long term.KEEN observers will have spotted young Reggie Walsh being taken under the wing of Cole Palmer at the end of his impressive debut last Thursday.The 16-year-old became Chelsea’s youngest starter since Ian Hamilton in 1967 and played 90 minutes of the run-out in the Conference League semi-final.And the moment the final whistle went, Palmer, an unused sub, had his arm around the Year 11 schoolboy and gave him a touching pep talk.Witty Cole Palmer has taken teenager Reggie Walsh under his wingCredit: EPAPalmer, who turned 23 last week, is only a kid himself and made reporters laugh when one grey-haired old hack remarked that Walsh makes even him look old.Palmer retorted: “Oh yeah? What does that make you look like to him then?”A barbed but humorous quip. More of that from Palmer please who seems to have a wicked sense of humour.FOOTBALLERS are renowned for being superstitious. So much so that you would be hard pressed to find any player willing to even go near a trophy they are competing for before it’s won.Which is why there were a few raised eyebrows at Stamford Bridge last week when a replica of the Conference League trophy was paraded on the touchline prior to kick-off against Djurgarden.Sure, Chelsea were 4-1 up and cruising but even so, it looked a bit odd for the giant silver waste paper basket trophy to be passed around between TV pundits and other dignitaries just yards from where the players were warming up.Luckily, it didn’t put Chelsea off. A 1-0 win on the night saw them through to the final on May 28 with a 5-1 aggregate. But had the tournament been a bit more prestigious and the score a bit closer, it might not have been brushed off so nonchalantly.It’s believed the cameo appearance of the cup was a sponsor-driven event.The Conference League trophy was on display at Stamford BridgeCredit: GettyChelsea ratings vs NewcastleCHELSEA suffered a double blow to their Champions League hopes as they lost the game and their striker at St James’ Park.European rivals Newcastle played the Blues off the park in the first half as Nicolas Jackson’s moment of madness saw him shown a straight red card for an elbow on Sven Botman.Newcastle opened the scoring with a Sandro Tonali goal after just two minutes, making it difficult for Chelsea to fight their way back into the game.It was made harder by Jackson’s elbow to Sven Botman’s head that meant Enzo Maresca’s side played the majority of the match with just 10 men.Bruno Guimaraes scored a stunning 90th minute screamer to make it 2-0 and hand a huge blow to Chelsea’s European hopes.It’s advantage Newcastle in the Champions League race now as they put three points between themselves and Chelsea who could now end the day outside the top five.Here’s how SunSport’s Joshua Hall rated every Chelsea star’s performance at St James’ Park… More
