Paul Merson believes that Chelsea’s decision to sanction the sale of Nicolas Jackson may have already ‘come back to bite’ Enzo Maresca’s side.
Jackson scored 13 goals in all competitions last season, but quickly found himself down the pecking order at Chelsea after the summer arrivals of Joao Pedro and Liam Delap.
The Senegalese international eventually secured a move to Bayern Munich, with the German giants paying around £14m to sign Jackson on a season-long loan deal.
The Bundesliga champions are obligated to make the deal permanent next summer for more than £56m if Jackson makes a set number of appearances.
The decision to let Jackson depart didn’t seem controversial at the time, particularly after the fast start that Pedro made to life in a blue shirt.
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However, after scoring three goals in his first three Premier League games, the Brazilian has not found the back of the net in his subsequent eight matches in all competitions.
Coupled with that, Delap’s hamstring injury, which left has left him sidelined for the past two months, has left Maresca’s side somewhat short for options – and goals – at the top of the pitch.
Chelsea did recall Marc Guiu from his season-long loan at Sunderland to provide some depth, with the Spaniard starting his first league game at the weekend against the Black Cats.
But Merson believes that Guiu is not yet ready to be a Premier League starter and claimed the Blues will be ruing their decision to let Jackson leave the club in the summer.
‘Up front, I think the decision to let Nicolas Jackson leave is coming back to bite Chelsea a bit,’ the former Arsenal midflelder told Sky Sports.
‘Marc Guiu wasn’t up to the task against Sunderland.
‘To only touch the ball nine or 10 times when you are playing for a dominant team, that’s not good enough. Joao Pedro is also not training much as he manages an injury.
‘It leaves Chelsea short, and I think it shows that squad is not as great as everyone makes out.’
After recovering from his injury, Delap looks set to start his first game since August when Chelsea face Wolves in the Carabao Cup fourth round.
But Maresca also sought to temper expectations around Pedro, insisting the Brazilian is never going to be the kind of striker who is competing for the Golden Boot each season.
‘Joao is not a problem at all, he is going to score goals for us, give us assists,’ he said. ‘Joao Pedro is not a No.9 who is going to score 20 goals a season.
‘He is a fantastic player, but he is a different type of No.9 that score 20 or 25 goals each year, like Lewandowski, Mbappe and Haaland.’
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