Former Chelsea midfielder John Obi Mikel has responded to Nicolas Jackson’s recent Instagram post addressing the criticism he received from the ex-Nigerian international.

Jackson delivered a strong performance during Chelsea’s 6-2 victory over Wolves, scoring a goal and providing an assist.

After the game, Jackson took to his Instagram story to respond to Mikel, writing: “@Mikel_john_obi, shut your mouth. Don’t talk s***, we are killing ourselves for Africa.”

Mikel responded by saying that he likes Jackson’s game but stressed that there are aspects the 23-year-old needs to work on.

Speaking on The Obi One podcast, Mikel said: “I really like the guy as a football player. I like him. There’s something there as a football player.

“I haven’t said that he’s a bad player at all. I’ve just said that his finishing qualities aren’t there yet.

“He’s 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 improve, to help him get better.

“We all can see the shift he puts in week in, week out. So for me, I would like to see my African brother, like he said, do well in the Premier League, come to Chelsea, a big club, a massive club where we’ve had one of the greatest strikers in Didier Drogba from Africa, Ivory Coast, who did really well.

“I’d like to see him do well as well in the club,” he added. “If he plays well, I will praise him. If there’s something to be said about where he needs to improve, I will definitely say it.

“If he scores every week and tells me to shut up, I’ll take that. You know what I mean?”

Speaking on beIN Sports, Mikel openly expressed his dissatisfaction with Jackson’s goal-scoring abilities following the Blues’ loss to City.

He said: “We’ve played OK, we haven’t played perfectly, but we’ve played OK.  

“We created chances, but we haven’t taken them. And [it’s] just an example of how Jackson finishes.

“You can see there, even though he was offside, he dribbled past one or two or three players, and the way he shot the ball!”

Mikel continued: “You need a striker who knows how to hit the ball into the back of the net, and that’s what we don’t have.

“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.

“A bit like (Haaland), 91 goals (for City), that’s absolutely unbelievable.”

Nicolas Jackson, who joined Chelsea in 2023 for £32 million, has been a key figure in the club’s attack, scoring 18 goals in 46 appearances.

Despite some inconsistencies in his performances, the 23-year-old has shown flashes of brilliance and remains an integral part of Chelsea’s forward line.