Paul Merson has advised incoming Chelsea manager Xabi Alonso to recall Nicolas Jackson once he takes over at Stamford Bridge.
Ex-Liverpool and Real Madrid midfielder Alonso is preparing to take charge of Chelsea after being appointed as the club’s new manager on a four-year deal.
Alonso, who was one of the best players of his generation, emerged as Chelsea’s top managerial target after Liam Rosenior’s sacking last month.
While Alonso is one of the most highly-rated coaches in world football, he has been warned he has ‘one hell of a job on his hands’ to revitalise struggling Chelsea.
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Chelsea finished fourth under Enzo Maresca last season and won the Conference League and Club World Cup.
It has been a completely different story for the Blues this term, however, with Chelsea slumping to a tenth-place finish in the Premier League and going through three managers.
It remains to be seen what Alonso decides to do with several talented but underperforming Chelsea players but Merson has warned the new manager that Liam Delap is ‘out of his depth’.
Chelsea’s £30m deal for Delap last summer was seen as a bargain, particularly as they beat a host of Premier League rivals – including Manchester United – to the transfer.
But Delap endured a miserable first season in west London, playing back-up to fellow summer signing Joao Pedro and scoring just two goals in all competitions.
The arrival of Delap was one of the reasons Chelsea sanctioned Jackson’s move to Bayern Munich, with the German champions paying £14m to sign the Senegal striker on a season-long loan.
They agreed to pay a further £56m to sign Jackson permanently if certain conditions were met but the 24-year-old did not feature enough for those to be activated.
As a result Jackson will return to Stamford Bridge this summer but Chelsea are expected to try to move him on amid interest from several domestic and foreign clubs.
Merson believes that would be a mistake, however, and says Alonso should keep Jackson at Chelsea given not only his ability but productive relationship with Cole Palmer.
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.’
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