Pochettino: Jackson and Nkunku will play together

Mauricio Pochettino says Chelsea fans should look forward to seeing an exciting attacking partnership of Nicolas Jackson AND Christopher Nkunku in the coming weeks.

Both players scored in Chelsea's 4-3 win over Brighton & Hove Albion in the opening match of the Premier League Summer Series on Saturday, with Jackson replacing Nkunku in Philadelphia on 63 minutes and assisting two goals and scoring another.

Pochettino says to expect the attacking duo to play together, perhaps even in their next Summer Series encounter, against Newcastle United in Atlanta on Wednesday.

"For sure we will arrive in the next few games at the possibility to play them together," he told the club's official website. "It is that the circumstance of the physical condition mean we need to use both to share the minutes.

"For Jackson and [Mykhailo] Mudryk, it's important to score. Nkunku also. Attacking players need to score to get their confidence and trust themselves. It is important to score goals and then we try to improve.

"Today, we maybe had more capacity to stay calm and create more chances and score more goals. These areas we have to work, we're going to focus our work. It takes time to believe and trust in the process to arrive in the best condition."

Chelsea scored only 38 goals last season, the fifth-fewest in the Premier League, so Pochettino will have been happy to see his side add four goals to the five they scored against Wrexham in their first pre-season match.

"Of course, a coach is never happy when you concede goals, but it's normal because it is only two-and-a-half weeks to work and evolve the different areas of the team," he added.

"I am happy, I saw many positive things. I am so happy with the attitude of the players and the staff. We showed great attitude and energy against a team that did a fantastic job last season.

"I am so happy with the balance in these two-and-a-half weeks. We know we have to work a lot and continue to improve. But we're starting to see certain principles that will be very, very important for us."