Nicolas Jackson may have taken his time to win over Chelsea supporters, but the Senegal international has become a key figure in Enzo Maresca's side and last weekend he became the fifth-fastest Blues player to reach 100 Premier League goals.
Bryan Mbeumo also extended his goal-scoring run in the Premier League, and Victor Boniface added his sixth Bundesliga goal of the season a week after sustaining injuries in a car crash.
Just under a year ago, I questioned whether the increasing parallels being drawn between then-Chelsea new boy Jackson and Blues great Didier Drogba were premature.
Jackson was coming off the back of a match-winning display in the 4-1 thumping of Tottenham Hotspur, and scoring Chelsea's third goal in their 4-4 epic against Manchester City, emulating Drogba's habit of making a big impact in the blockbuster fixtures. But he was also demonstrating a worrying propensity for missing chances and fluffing his lines when opportunities presented themselves.
As the season wore on, despite besting Drogba's 10-goal haul in his first campaign at Stamford Bridge, by netting 14, Jackson was increasingly perceived as a weak link in this Blues side, and an area of improvement for Mauricio Pochettino -- and then his successor -- during the offseason.
Summer rumours of a move for Victor Osimhen hardly suggested overwhelming confidence in Jackson's ability.
Few are doubting him now.
Nine games into the new season, with Chelsea in fifth, Jackson is increasingly proving himself to be a consistent goal threat; he's had a hand in nine goals, including the opener in Sunday's triumph over Newcastle United.
Jackson was almost decisive inside the first four minutes, as he fed the outstanding Cole Palmer during the opening exchanges, with the latter only denied by an offside VAR call.
It was an early indication of the burgeoning rapport between Jackson and Palmer, with the former's self-sacrificing work up top, his link-up play with the midfield, and his continued work running the channels and stretching defenders, helping Maresca to get the best out of his stacked offensive options.
Inside the first 20 minutes, the Senegal frontman had given Chelsea the lead, picked out by Pedro Neto on the run, after excellent work from Palmer, and beating Nick Pope with a sharp finish.
The goal was all about the build-up, Palmer's invention and Neto's quick thinking, but this was the kind of unerring finish that some had speculated was beyond Jackson during last season's struggles.
His goal makes him the fifth-fastest player to reach 20 goals during the Premier League era, behind only Diego Costa, Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink, Palmer and Mark Stein. Excluding penalties, Palmer is the third-fastest to 20 -- eye-opening considering he scored just once in his first seven Chelsea outings.
For context, Drogba needed 50 matches to reach 20 goals, while Jackson, the 30th player to score 20 Premier League goals for the Pensioners, has equalled Fernando Torres's Chelsea league tally across 110 matches.
Jackson sits joint fifth in the Premier League scoring charts this term -- level with Mohamed Salah and Danny Welbeck -- but he appears to have a significant margin of progression to make; while Jackson's six goals have come from 22 shots this term, he's still missed 29 "big chances" across his 44 outings.
Champions League-winning Torres, despite taking more than twice as long to reach 20 goals, missed only 32 "big chances" in his 110 appearances for Chelsea in the top tier. Beyond Chelsea, no other under-23 played striker across Europe's major leagues has more goals, more assists or more non-penalty goals than Jackson, while only two have created more goalscoring chances than the West African.
As reported by football.london, Jackson has actively worked to improve his mental preparation for fixtures -- focusing on introducing positive routines, more effective rest, and improved nutrition -- and will the results appearing to be felt on the field.
The only African player to have scored more Premier League goals than Jackson this season is Brentford's Mbeumo, who continues to ensure the Bees have little trouble replacing the goals lost with Ivan Toney's exit.
Two second-half Mbeumo goals -- including a 95th-minute winner -- settled a topsy-turvy encounter with Ipswich Town at the weekend, with the visitors letting a two-goal first-half lead slip during a frantic goalscoring flurry.
Mbeumo put Brentford 3-2 up from the spot in the 51st minute, firing home with aplomb after Keane Lewis-Potter was brought down in the box by Harry Clarke.
The winner wasn't so intentional, with Mbeumo's attempted cross catching out Arijanet Muric, who was unable to anticipate the trajectory and could only watch as the ball coiled over the line.
The Cameroon international has now registered 50 goal involvements in the Premier League since arriving from Troyes in a £5.8 million deal five years ago.
During that period, only 10 Premier League players have had a hand in more top-flight goals than Mbeumo, with just Ollie Watkins and Jarrod Bowen from outside the traditional top six achieving the half-century.
Yoane Wissa, making his first start for the Bees since starting against Manchester City in September, started Brentford's comeback with a first-time finish late in the first half, and how Thomas Frank will be delighted to have the Congo DR forward back available for his top-half hopefuls.
Also in the Premier Leagye, Aaron Wan-Bissaka deserves recognition for his fine display for West Ham United against former club Manchester United and the man who replaced him at right-back for the Red Devils -- Morocco's Noussair Mazraoui.
<
The "ESPN FC" crew discuss whether Rúben Amorim is the right manager to turn Manchester United's season around following the sacking of Erik ten Hag.
Wan-Bissaka has been given a greater licence to press forward for Julen Lopetegui's side, but his late tackle to block Alejandro Garnacho was perhaps his most critical contribution of the Hammers' 2-1 victory that ultimately sealed Erik ten Hag's exit from Old Trafford.
At Goodison Park, Alex Iwobi also returned to face familiar foe, as his Fulham travelled to face former employers Everton.
Beto's 94th-minute equaliser secured a barely deserved 1-1 draw for the Toffees, but Iwobi also enjoyed a moment to remember when he opened the scoring with a typically placed finish after fine work from Emile Smith Rowe.
Iwobi clearly enjoyed the moment but refused to celebrate out of respect for his former supporters.
"What Alex has done this season has been so good, he is improving game by game and he is more decisive for us," Marco Silva said after the game. "Last season was probably the best from him at this level, and I think he's going to be even better this season.
"He is taking much more responsibility and pushing the team forward."
In Germany, Boniface bounced back in style after being involved in a car accident on Sunday that left him bloodied and shaken on the side of Germany's A3 motorway.
Boniface had already overcome hardship -- being stranded in a Libyan airport after the spat between the North African country and Nigeria during the international break -- to score in the Bundesliga.
He repeated the trick this time around, responding in style after his lucky escape to score in his fourth consecutive Bundesliga fixture as Bayer Leverkusen drew 2-2 at Werder Bremen.
Boniface opened the scoring on the half-hour mark, but couldn't hind his frustration towards head coach Xabi Alonso when he was withdrawn in the 70th minute with the visitors 2-0 up.
The reigning champions were unable to hold onto their lead heading into the final 15 minutes, conceding twice to leave them five points behind Bayern Munich atop the table.
"That's normal; all players want to keep playing," Alonso said after the game. "He did well, scored a goal, but we needed a bit more energy."