Paul Merson says Chelsea’s attack are ‘predictable’ in their current guise and he ‘cannot believe’ the club have not been in the race for Eberechi Eze this summer.
Chelsea got their season off to a disappointing start as they were held to a goalless draw at home to Crystal Palace, despite spending in excess of £230million on new signings in the transfer market.
It could have been worse for the Blues after Eze fired home a superb 13th-minute free-kick at Stamford Bridge, only for the strike to be disallowed by VAR.
Eze has been courted by several top teams throughout the course of the transfer window and the latest reports suggest Tottenham have reached a £60m agreement for the versatile 27-year-old.
Arsenal have also been credited with a strong interest in Eze, but the Gunners are thought to have dropped their pursuit of Palace’s FA Cup hero after Ethan Nwaneri decided to put pen to paper on a new contract.
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While Chelsea are not known to have held serious discussions for Eze, Merson feels the England international would be an ideal signing for the Club World Cup winners to help ease the pressure on Cole Palmer.
‘I cannot believe Chelsea aren’t going for Eberechi Eze. I really don’t know what I am missing,’ Merson – a lifelong Chelsea supporter – wrote in his Sky Sports column following the weekend’s Premier League action.
‘They buy winger after winger, but they need guile. They need more than Palmer.
‘If you get Eze, you then have two players who can break teams down.
‘They are predictable for me. They play with two quick wingers with Palmer trying to feed them.’
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Merson believes there were several ‘worrying’ signs in Chelsea’s stalemate with Palace and Palmer needs far greater ‘support’ if the club are to challenge at the top of the table.
‘Chelsea were not good against Crystal Palace. The draw was worrying,’ the ex-Arsenal, Aston Villa and England man added.
‘If Cole Palmer isn’t going to break a team down, I’m not sure who is for Chelsea.
‘Palmer is now the talk of the town in team talks up against Chelsea. Teams are trying to stop him because they think stop him, stop Chelsea.
‘Stop Cole Palmer will be the message for West Ham on Friday. That’s just how it is.
‘He needs some support. If opposition teams pick him up and mark him well, I’m not sure what threat Chelsea have. Pedro Neto and Jamie Gittens have pace, but they struggled to beat their defenders on Sunday.’
According to Merson, it should not always be down to Palmer to make the breakthrough and Enzo Maresca will have to ‘come up with solutions’ ahead of Chelsea’s trip to West Ham on Friday night.
‘It’s hard for Palmer. You’ve got have runners around when you get the ball and for me, he hasn’t got those,’ he continued.
‘It’s not just all on Palmer because Enzo Maresca has to come up with solutions too.
‘He has to work out a way to get him the ball in areas where he can hurt teams. But for Palmer, patience is key. He has to wait for the ball a bit more instead of dropping deep to come and get it.
‘You cannot hurt anybody on the halfway line. He needs the ball in and around the box where he’s special.’
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