Merson claims he could play for Chelsea right now as he claims one Blues signing is ‘not Potter’s player’

Joe Williams
Chelsea boss Graham Potter gives Mykhaylo Mudryk instructions

Paul Merson thinks he could’ve played for Chelsea in their 2-0 loss to Tottenham on Sunday and he claims Graham Potter’s future “comes down to the Dortmund game”.

The Blues put in another underwhelming display against Spurs over the weekend with goals from Oliver Skipp and Harry Kane securing the points for Cristian Stellini’s men.

Defeat for Chelsea made it one win in 11 matches for under-pressure Potter, who made six changes for the match in north London.

Reports are claiming that the Chelsea board are having their first ‘doubts’ about whether Potter is the right man to be in charge at the club in the long term.

And Merson thinks their Champions League clash with Borussia Dortmund next week is now key to Potter’s future, while the former Arsenal midfielder can tell Mykhaylo Mudryk is “not Potter’s player”.

Merson told Sky Sports: “It’s the worst I’ve seen at Chelsea in over 20 years. The fans are fuming now. I was at the game against Tottenham on Sunday and that’s the most hostile I’ve ever heard it among the Chelsea support.

“I think Graham Potter will get the next two games, Leeds and Dortmund in the Champions League. It doesn’t actually matter what happens in the Leeds match, it all comes down to the Dortmund game.

“It’s the only competition Chelsea can win, they’re out of the FA Cup and won’t get in the top four, and there’s no way they can go into a Champions League game without a manager, it’s pointless. People may say it won’t be any worse, but it won’t be any better. It’s a massive week.

“At Tottenham, they didn’t look like scoring a goal in a year of Sundays. Mykhailo Mudryk is an £88m signing sitting on the bench, it tells you he’s not Potter’s player. If he was his player and he’d have gone to the board and said he needed him, and would have to play him.

“When Chelsea lost 1-0 at Dortmund, I thought they’d definitely beat them in the second leg. Since then, I don’t see how they will score two goals in a match.

“They never looked like scoring at Spurs. I could have played for Chelsea on Sunday when they had the ball because it was so slow – and I’m 54! I can’t run around anymore but I can pass the ball, and I could have played in the team. It was slow, sideways, backwards, I can play like that at my age.

“Chelsea’s biggest game is Tottenham and it was lacklustre. They could still be playing now and they wouldn’t have scored. I can’t remember getting excited once in the game by them.

“Chelsea beat Tottenham four out of four times last season, twice in the cups, twice in the league and that was when they had Heung-min Son playing on fire. Now he’s coming off the bench and they still can’t get a result.

“I like Potter, they should give him a chance, but one goal in six games, one win in 11, two wins in 16. That is absolutely a no-go. It’s extraordinary.”

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