Chelsea omitted Nicolas Jackson from their squad that beat Bayer Leverkusen 2-0 in tonight’s pre-season at Stamford Bridge.
The 24-year-old has been training alone following serious interest from Newcastle United, who were scuppered by Manchester United for striker Benjamin Sesko.
Juventus representatives were lined up to see Jackson first hand at the cash-rich Club World Cup, only for the hot-shot to last just four minutes against Flamengo.
Appearing as a second-half substitute for Liam Delap, his reckless challenge resulted in being sent off as Chelsea were toppled 3-1 by the Brazilians.
Jackson fallen down pecking order
The Senegal international, who netted 10 goals in 30 Premier League matches last term, has dramatically fallen out of favor as Chelsea this summer signed strikers Delap from Ipswich Town and Joao Pedro from Brighton & Hove Albion.
Although Jackson is on the wanted list at Juve and Napoli, his asking price of €60 million (US$69.9m) has deterred the pair of Serie A giants.
This figure is not a problem for Newcastle, who have been offered Juve’s wantaway striker Dusan Vlahovic and another unwanted player at the Turin titans in a daring move to tempt Italy international Sandro Tonali to don the Juve jersey next term.
Tonali remains on Juventus wishlist
Tonali, whose exploits at AC Milan alerted cash-rich Newcastle to his talents, has bounced back with aplomb after missing 10 months because of a betting ban slapped on him by Italian soccer authorities.
When Tonali joined Newcastle on a five-year deal for €64.7 million (US$75.3m) in 2023, he became the most costly Italian soccer transfer of all time.
His eye-catching displays, having been utilised in a deeper midfielder role last season by head coach Eddie Howe, attracted a plethora of Premier League teams as well as cash-strapped Juventus.
Jackson joined Chelsea on a 10-year contract from Villarreal in 2023 for €37 million (US$43.1m), and has netted 30 goals in 80 appearances. The club will reintegrate him into their squad if their asking price is not met.