Christopher Nkunku was labelled a ‘total waste of money’ after his lacklustre display in Chelsea’s FA Cup defeat to Brighton on Saturday.
Despite taking the lead after a calamitous goalkeeping mistake from Bart Verbruggen, goals from Georginio Rutter and Kaoru Mitoma saw Enzo Maresca’s side dumped out of the cup competition in the fourth round.
The defeat also extends Chelsea’s dismal recent form, with the Blues registering just three wins from their last ten games in all competitions.
Despite fielding a strong side away from home, Chelsea produced a lacklustre display in front of their travelling fans, managing just two shots on target throughout the entire 90 minutes.
In the absence of the injured Nicolas Jackson and Marc Guiu, Maresca gave Nkunku a rare chance to lead the line for Chelsea but the Frenchman once again flattered to deceive.
The 27-year-old was heavily linked with an exit from Stamford Bridge in the January transfer window having started just three Premier League games under Maresca so far this season.
However, former Chelsea player Craig Burley said Nkunku failed to justify why he should be given more opportunities after his latest display.
‘There was no cutting edge to the game,’ Burley told ESPN as he reflected on the manner of Chelsea’s defeat.
‘Palmer has stopped influencing games like he was. Nkunku up front, I mean what a total waste of money he’s been.
‘And on top of that they are looking a bit fragile at the back.’
Burley continued: ‘The discussion earlier in the season was whether they could stay in the title race.
‘We kind of expected them to slip but they’ve slipped back into this Graham Potter, Mauricio Pochettino, Thomas Tuchel pedestrian passing game.
’57 per cent possession – way more than Brighton – but what did they do with it? Absolutely nothing.’
Maresc admitted that his side missed the presence of Nicolas Jackson (Picture: Getty)
Chelsea remain right in the thick of the race for a top-four spot, but Burley warned that Maresca could soon be fearing for his future if performances don’t improve quickly.
‘We know this ownership and club can make random and rash decisions,’ the Scot added. ‘Now they must have been very pleased from what they saw from summer to Christmas.
‘But if these performances continue and they slide down the table and they start heading out of Europe, Enzo Maresca is at a club where they will make snap decisions. They won’t give you two or three years like Arsenal did with (Mikel) Arteta through the bad spells.’
Speaking after the game, Maresca admitted that Chelsea had missed Jackson’s presence in attack, but said the Senegalese international could return for the next league fixture on Friday.
‘Sometimes I think you need to play games without players to realise how important they are,’ the Italian said.
‘We said many times about Nico: he is important on and off the ball. Off the ball, his intensity is very good and on the ball, he is always a threat.
‘Overall, even without Nico, the game was both. We started the game very good. In the first-half, probably the only shot on goal they had was the goal.
‘We controlled, we created some chances and the second-half, more or less it happened the same – probably the only shot on goal was the second goal
‘We had a few chances to draw and we missed. Now, if there is something good after a defeat is now we can be focused on the Premier League and Conference [League].’
