Paul Merson has already changed his top-four prediction (Picture: Sky Sports)
Paul Merson has changed his Premier League top-four prediction after Chelsea beat Liverpool to a British record deal for Moises Caicedo.
Chelsea took advantage of Caicedo’s reluctance to join Liverpool to secure a stunning £115m deal for the Brighton and Ecuador midfielder.
Merson believes it will turn out to be a game-changing transfer in the Premier League and is now backing Chelsea to secure a top-four place at the expense of Liverpool.
Chelsea finished just 12th last season but are expected to improve under new manager Mauricio Pochettino. The Blues drew 1-1 with Liverpool on Sunday in their Premier League opener.
‘Chelsea already look a hundred times better than last season and with Moises Caicedo moving to Stamford Bridge, they’ll finish in the top four instead of Liverpool,’ Merson told Sky Sports.
‘You could see in Sunday’s game that both clubs need Caicedo and that’s why he’s going for £115m. Is he worth that? Not for me, but Chelsea supporters won’t care how much they pay.
‘Liverpool were so open. I just don’t see who is going to win the ball back for them. Conor Gallagher did a good job for Chelsea to break things up after a slow start, but Liverpool didn’t have that.
Moises Caicedo snubbed Liverpool to join Chelsea (Picture: Getty)
‘If Liverpool had played one of the top sides, like Arsenal or Man City, on Sunday then they’d have been in trouble, it could have been four or five. They got ripped open a lot of times and were never punished.
‘Arsenal used to be the best team on the ball but the worst without it. You don’t want Liverpool getting into that situation. You’ve got to get the ball back.
‘That’s why they want Caicedo. They’re not trying to buy him for that money to score 15 goals from midfield like Frank Lampard used to do.
‘When Liverpool had the ball: very good. When they didn’t: too easy.’
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Luiz Dias put Liverpool ahead at Stamford Bridge on Sunday but Chelsea avoided defeat thanks to summer signing Axel Disasi’s goal shortly before half-time.
Merson saw plenty of positives from Chelsea’s perspective and expects their encouraging start to the new season to continue when they face West Ham and Luton Town next.
‘The biggest problem Mauricio Pochettino was going to have, and every Chelsea manager had it last season, is no one knew what their best team was. You would never know who was going to play,’ the ex-Arsenal star added.
‘Before the Liverpool game, they would have taken a draw but afterwards, it was disappointing that they didn’t win. Chelsea would have 100 per cent lost that game last season.
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‘They moved the ball quicker than last season and moved it forward. Enzo Fernandez playing higher up the pitch helped him. He’s top-drawer. An outstanding player. You’ve got to get him on the ball, it’s as simple as that.
‘Nicolas Jackson will score goals and it will help that he won’t be playing against Virgil van Dijk every week. He ran past Ibrahima Konate with the ball and he’s quick for a centre-back.
‘There were a lot of pluses for Chelsea after the season they had last year. I expect them to go to West Ham this week and not lose. Then I expect them to beat Luton. That’s a good start.
‘They’ve got to learn how to run before they start sprinting again. They were in the fast lane a couple of years ago and all of a sudden pulled a hamstring. If they get into the top four then they’ve done an outstanding job.’
MORE : Brighton CEO explains why Moises Caicedo snubbed Liverpool for Chelsea
MORE : Romeo Lavia snubs Liverpool and wants to join Chelsea in transfer twist
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Merse has already changed his mind…