Gary Neville urges Chelsea to make three signings for Mauricio Pochettino | Football

Pochettino has come under fire following an inconsistent first season at Chelsea, who currently sit ninth in the Premier League and 19 points fourth-placed Aston Villa.

Nicolas Jackson has also received heavy criticism for his performances for Chelsea this term, with the 22-year-old, who has scored 13 goals in all competitions this season, guilty of missing several clear-cut chances, most notably in the FA Cup semi-final defeat to Manchester City earlier this month.

But Neville has defended Jackson’s debut campaign at Chelsea and believes the club need to sign a new striker, goalkeeper and central defender to replace Thiago Silva in order to help the team’s progression under Pochettino.

‘I actually like Nicolas Jackson, might be an unpopular opinion on here, but I like him,’ said Neville on Sky Sports’ The Gary Neville Podcast.

‘I think he has a lot to give, he’s a young player. I think he’s not cost stupid money but it’s his first full season in the Premier League, he’s scored quite a few goals and he keeps going. There’s a lot to be said for that.

‘He might not be striker number one but if he was your striker number two or number three in a squad of 18 to 20, you’ll say, ‘I’ll take that’. So for me, the performance Chelsea put in against Manchester City in the FA Cup semi-final that was a hell of a performance. Good, really good.

‘And if they had a forward who could finish more consistently than Nicolas Jackson then they would have obviously won the game, and I think that’s what Chelsea’s owners should be looking at. Performance standards are not consistent, they’re awful when they’re awful, but actually their good looks quite exciting and you can see something.

‘But they need those two or three players to glue it together. They need really good, experienced signings. They can’t afford to go down the route of eight-year contracts.

‘Eight-year contracts are bad in many ways, one because I just don’t think they make sense but they’re actually not good for a young player.

‘The money is big as well, if you think you’ve got an eight-year contract as a 21, 22-year-old, the club might think they’re got security over you, but the player thinks, ‘I’m rich’. And for some that’s a problem, it just affects the mindset.

‘If they can get those right three players in at the start of the season – the striker, the centre-back to replace Thiago Silva and the goalkeeper, I think, as well, those three positions come in.’