Nicolas Jackson faces a swift reunion with parent club Chelsea tonight.

The Blues begin their Champions League campaign against Bayern Munich at the Allianz Arena, and there is a familiar face in the home side’s ranks following events on transfer Deadline Day.

Jackson joined the Bundesliga champions initial loan for the season after falling down the pecking order at Stamford Bridge with Liam Delap and Joao Pedro both arriving in the summer.

The deal itself nearly didn’t happen. The 24-year-old’s switch to Bavaria almost collapsed at the 11th hour due to Delap sustaining a hamstring injury in the 2-0 win over Fulham but the Blues eventually allowed for the deal to be completed.

Bayern reportedly paid a £14.3million loan fee and have an obligation to buy Jackson for £56.2million if he makes a certain number of appearances.

What makes this deal intriguing is Jackson’s parent and loan club will face off on matchday one in the league phase of this season’s Champions League, thus setting up the possibility of Chelsea being left red faced.

So the big question Chelsea fans have been asking is: Can Nicolas Jackson play against Chelsea?

The answer is clear: UEFA regulations say yes.

According to the governing body, “clubs cannot insert clauses that prevent their own players from facing them in European competition.” UEFA call this their “Statement on Integrity of Competitions.”
That means Nicolas Jackson will be permitted to line up against his parent club in Munich tonight.

In the words of Reece James, we wish Nicolas Jackson well, but not tonight.