He said on Sky Sports: “If they don’t win their next two games, the manager won’t be there. They’re playing against two of the worst teams to play in the Premier League for I don’t know how long in Southampton and Leicester. So, if they don’t win those two games, he will do well to keep his job. Chelsea have got to get in the Champions League. They need the Champions League to keep players like Cole Palmer as he will want to play in that competition. They will have to finish in the top five, otherwise I dread to think what’s going to happen. I just don’t see what the plan is.”

Merson added: “Even Palmer has struggled now, Palmer needs Nicolas Jackson, and Jackson needs Palmer. Without Jackson’s movement, Palmer gets suffocated out of the game. He hasn’t got any movement in front of him. People give Jackson stick but you can see how good he is now he’s not in the team. Now, all of a sudden, they’ve got nothing up front, so no one’s making the runs and Palmer’s got no space. So he’s getting deeper and deeper. Jackson’s a massive miss.”