Six years ago, Chelsea striker Nicolas Jackson was playing barefoot football in his hometown of Senegal and his life was so far removed from the wealth and glamor of the Premier League that he had never owned a pair of football boots.
The fact that Jackson explains how difficult he found it to adapt to playing in football boots is a shocking reminder of how far he has come - and how quickly he has done so - from Ziguinchor, a nine-hour drive south of Dakar , to Stamford Bridge, via Villarreal.
During an enlightening half-hour at Chelsea's training ground in Cobham, Jackson began his path to the Premier League, providing Telegraph Sport with personal photos of the place where it all began and where his mother, Jeanne Malack, worked day and night. a farm.
"In Ziguinchor you played in the street, just with your friends," Jackson said. "No club, just play because you love the game. Maybe, for one euro each, play against each other. Have fun, play without boots. Just barefoot or maybe borrow someone's boots to play."
When asked if he had his own boots as a child, Jackson replied: "No, boots were expensive. I played in my school shoes or barefoot. Maybe I was 16 when I got my first boots. My mother bought them for me, they were cheap, not like original boots. They were second-hand boots. I didn't play with it at first because I wasn't used to it. I was used to playing with my bare feet. So it took time, it was a bit strange.
"Growing up, I loved Cristiano Ronaldo. I had his name on a shirt I always wore. Not a real shirt because they are expensive so you don't buy them. But I had a shirt that I put on, Ronaldo with a pen. I did it myself when I was a kid.
"Of course I pretended to be him, but it was difficult to watch his matches because you had to pay. We all went to my friend's house. We watched with a large group, never with just one person in the house. All my friends, we all went to one house to watch Real Madrid."
The story continues
Jackson's admiration for Ronaldo explains why he marked his first career hat-trick against nine-man Tottenham Hotspur with the Portuguese forward's famous 'siuuu' celebration.
"I always celebrated his celebration, even when I was at Villarreal and I scored two goals," said the 22-year-old Jackson. "So when I got a hat-trick, I had to do it. Now I only do it for hat-tricks, not for every goal.
"It was my first hat-trick in my career. It was very special. The ball is in my lounge for everyone to see. I hope there will be many more to come, but the first one is always very important and I will try to keep it very safe."
If his hat-trick ball helps signify how far he has come and adds context to the 'siuuu' celebration, then another ball is meaningful to Jackson's belief that he was born to be a footballer.
"My mother and father said that when I was young, before I could talk, they bought me a ball. For me to sleep, I had to be at the ball. I was a baby. They didn't take a picture because there was no camera, but I slept with a ball. If I woke up and couldn't see the ball, I would cry. Everyone told me that. Football was something I had to do. It's like God gives you something and says, 'You're going to do this'."
'I had to choose my own path'
That determination and belief convinced Jackson to quit school at the age of 16, despite the fact that he had never played in any of Senegal's academies and had yet to attract the interest of any professional club.
"In Senegal, some kids go to an academy, but my family, on my father's side, it's not that they didn't want me to play, but it was more like 'are you going to make it in football?' because it's so hard," Jackson said.
"You have to choose between going to school or trying to play football. I dropped out of school and everyone was annoyed with me. If I couldn't make it in football, I don't know what I would do. They wanted me to go to school and finish everything, but I had to choose my own path.
"I had to fight and be strong. I didn't go to parties, I didn't smoke, I didn't drink. I still haven't done that. I had a lot of friends who did that, but I knew I was on my own and if it didn't work it would be a hard life. I'm not the only one who has had a hard life in Africa, so I wasn't afraid of that."
Despite being angry about his decision to drop out of school, Jackson's mother worked day and night to support her son, who believes that no matter how much he earns from Chelsea, he will never be able to repay his debt to her.
"You know the moms, they just do whatever it takes for you," Jackson said. "They just love you and always support you. I didn't go to school, but she always supported me and helped me.
"She worked on a farm. Where I come from, a lot of people farmed. She would have to work from morning to night to support me. She would farm and then sell. She sold everything, groundnuts, watermelon. I was playing football, not selling with her and not making any money.
'I don't want her to do anything now. She is still in Senegal, she wants to work, but I don't want her to. She doesn't want to sit in one spot, so we'll see.
'You can't repay your mother and your father, ever. Especially your mother, because she had you in her stomach for nine months. Everything you do for her will never be enough. I always try to do what I can to make her happy."
Jackson's big break came when he was spotted by former Fulham striker Diomansy Kamara and, aged 17, joined Casa Sports, which plays in Senegal's top professional division, for the 2018/19 season. After a trial at Benfica, he moved to Villarreal in Spain before being signed by Chelsea for £32million this summer.
"I was playing on the street, but cops would come and watch games," Jackson explained. "Diomansy made a tournament for the best players in Ziguinchor and he just saw me there. From there I went to Casa in the First Division. Maybe seven months there and then to Spain.
"I never went to a football school. I just played on the street and was fast and could dribble. But when I went to Spain, Unai Emery was there and he developed me."
Apart from the English weather, the biggest shock to the system for Jackson since his move to Chelsea has been the criticism leveled at him and his teammates.
During the defeat to Brentford, Jackson was distracted by a supporter shouting at him to 'wake up' while speaking to head coach Mauricio Pochettino and after the match his goal-scoring instincts were questioned by two former strikers turned pundits, Alan Shearer and Peter Crouch . .
"I have to say sorry to the fan," Jackson said. "I've never had this before. At Villarreal you play without so much pressure because it's a different team, but I know it comes from a good place.
"Normally I don't talk to fans or get distracted by what they say. I don't know what happened to me. It must have been frustration. It's not a small thing: everyone in the game expects you to do what they want you to do. It's because they love you, not because they hate you. They want you to make them happy. Now I know that. I was in Villarreal, but it was a different environment. You don't have that kind of thing there. It's different at Chelsea."
Asked about the criticism he received from Shearer and Crouch, Jackson added: "Cristiano would score 30 to 35 goals a season and people would criticize him. You never heard him talk about it, he just responded with a celebration. So it doesn't affect me. I learn from him, I would never respond to criticism. I know what I can do, I believe in myself."
As many yellow cards as goals
Heading into Saturday's away trip to Newcastle United, Jackson has scored seven goals for Chelsea, the last of which came against Manchester City before the international break. He also has seven bookings to his name and has already served a one-match suspension after receiving five yellow cards in his first six league matches.
Pochettino said he would fine Jackson for his five bookings "not in the way you think, it's not money" and the player believes he has served a penalty.
"One day I was running and I didn't know why," Jackson said. 'Maybe that was it. I was dead that day, I think that was my punishment. They just shouted at me to run. I said 'why, what happened', but I just had to run. It was laps, very difficult, the intensity, and then I was lying down when I finished. I think that was it.
"The coach talked to me and told me to be careful. If you show a card, you will receive a yellow card. That was the most important thing. I plan to change that."
Will Jackson end the season with more goals or yellow cards? "I don't mind getting forty yellow cards if I score thirty goals! I have a goal(s) in mind. When I get there, I'll tell you at the end of the season. I am confident that I will do that."
