Merson tells Alonso to bring back £70m star to replace Chelsea flop in first move | OneFootball

Arsenal legend Paul Merson reckons new Chelea head coach Xabi Alonso should bring back Nicolas Jackson to replace Liam Delap in the summer.

Delap, who was signed from Ipswich Town for £30m in the summer, has contributed just three goals and one assist in 47 matches in all competitions this season.

Chelsea finished fourth last season and won the Club World Cup over the summer under Enzo Maresca – but things have not gone to plan this term.

The Blues lost 2-1 to Sunderland on the final day of the Premier League season to drop down to 10th in the table and miss out on European football next season.

After Maresca and Liam Rosenior were sacked, Calum McFarlane took over as interim boss until the end of the season and now former Real Madrid head coach Alonso will be the new manager from July 1.

And Merson reckons Alonso’s first move as Chelsea head coach should be to bring Jackson back to Stamford Bridge from Bayern Munich, where he has been on a season-long loan deal, while the Bavarians have a £70m option to buy.

Discussing Chelsea’s appointment of Alonso, Merson said on The Good, The Bad & The Football podcast: “I thought Chelsea were in a position where they had a manager who was grateful to manage Chelsea.

“They need a manager who the fan’s are grateful that he’s managing Chelsea and they’ve got that now with Xabi Alonso because he’s a top manager.

“They need players and they need a clear-out. I would get Nicolas Jackson back, I would rip Jackson back.

“I’ve said it before, Palmer made Jackson and Jackson made Palmer. Palmer’s not on that plane [to the World Cup] because Jackson’s not been there.

“Liam Delap is out of his depth and Joao Pedro wants to come this way [towards the midfield] and it closes everything down, he’s more of a No. 10 really.

“A back-three would suit Chelsea because they’ve got Reece James, Marc Cucurella and Malo Gusto who can bomb forward and they’ve got two holding midfielders in Caicedo and Enzo.

“That will suit Xabi Alonso. They could be a good team but they need some experience.”

James: It’s been far below our standards and we need to review

Reece James came out after the club’s defeat to Sunderland to analyse Chelsea’s season, he said: “We need to digest this season. It’s been far below our standards and we need to review and see where we can improve for next time.

“Just saying it [not qualifying for Europe] doesn’t sound right. We’re a club that has won a number of European trophies and this season we haven’t even qualified. So, we have lots to learn and improve.

“I think it [defeat at Sunderland] probably reflects how our season has gone – we’ve underachieved. We had a few chances in the first half and we didn’t take them. I feel if we had taken our chances, the game would have been different.”