Merson though, believes the absence of Nicolas Jackson is influencing the struggles that the England international is enduring at Stamford Bridge at this moment in time, with Christopher Nkunku proving to be more of a hindrance.

The Senegal forward has missed his side’s last two games through injury, and Jackson is now set to be out at Chelsea for the next six weeks.

Now Merson believes that will not be good news for the performances of Palmer during that period, which will be a concern at Stamford Bridge.

The former Arsenal star believes that as good as the 22-year-old is he needs other individuals to play off him, and bring the best out of the attacking midfielder.

Jackson is one individual who Merson believes can do that, prompting his fears for the Chelsea talisman while the Senegal international remains unavailable for this extended period, given the style of play of his replacement, Christopher Nkunku.

Speaking on Sky Sports News about what the absence of Jackson means for Palmer, the ex-England international said: “They miss Jackson. Palmer makes Jackson and Jackson makes Palmer. He does.

“People will sit there and go ‘Oh don’t be silly, Palmer’s [an] unbelievable player’. You’re only as good as the players that are playing in front of you.

“And he’s [Palmer] got no movement at the moment. So what happens, when he doesn’t make them runs, Jackson, and Jackson’s a willing player, he always makes runs. When he makes runs he stretches the game, then Palmer comes in there [the space] and gets the ball.

“Now Nkunku comes short and everything just closes up. In the end, I’m at West Ham last week and Palmer’s getting the ball off the centre-half, West Ham are like [rubs hands together] ‘Oh that’s handy, what’s he gonna do?’ It ain’t been good.”

It was another difficult night for Palmer as Chelsea were comfortably beaten 3-0 by Brighton on Friday (14 February).

However, he was arguably again not always helped by a lack of options around him to work with in trying to get something going in attack.

That is proof of just how big a blow this long-term injury to Jackson could turn out to be for Maresca and his side.

While he has not been the most prolific or consistent of finishers during his time at Stamford Bridge, he is at least very much willing to put himself about and get involved in the game.

That in turn can then help to bring the best out of Palmer as he has someone to link-up with, which given his own quality, is so important for Chelsea.

As a result, getting Jackson back fit and playing as soon as possible is a priority for the club, with another striker to do this job surely a priority come the summer transfer window.

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