Paul Merson says Xabi Alonso’s failure to land on a settled defence is a ‘worry’ and could become a major ‘problem’ if the Chelsea manager fails to ‘sort it out’ sooner rather than later.

There was a renewed sense of optimism amongst Chelsea’s fanbase heading into the season following a move away from the club’s purely youth-led transfer policy in the summer window.

After smashing their club record to sign Morgan Rogers in a statement £117million deal, the Blues made sure to add some much-needed experience to Alonso’s dressing room by bringing in Danny Welbeck and Jordan Henderson.

The west London giants wound up their transfer business by replacing the error-prone Robert Sanchez with Emiliano Martinez between the sticks, a player many supporters hope could be the missing piece of the puzzle at Stamford Bridge.

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But after winning their first two Premier League matches against Fulham and Brighton, Alonso’s men surrendered an early lead to lose 2-1 away to bitter rivals Arsenal.

And at the weekend, the Blues suffered another disappointing setback as they were held to a 2-2 draw at home to newly promoted Hull City, with the side still yet to record a clean sheet in the top flight this term.

‘His problem is going to be, after four league games and two cups games, he won’t know what his best defence is yet. He won’t know if it’s the best back three or five or four,’ ex-Arsenal and England star Merson – a lifelong Chelsea fan – said on Sky Sports News.

‘That’s a worry and he needs to get that sorted.

‘Maxence Lacroix was left out against Hull and he came on at the end, but Alonso has got to get a solid three if he wants to play three at the back.

‘He’s got to keep that three and give them four or five games.’

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Merson believes Alonso mustr work out a ‘solid’ defensive unit if he is to steer Chelsea back towards the top of English football.

‘It isn’t going to be any worse, they’re not going to keep on letting twos in,’ he added.

‘Stay solid because Chelsea don’t want to get to December and we’re all sitting here saying Alonso doesn’t know his best back three or back four.

‘That’s a worry and they need to sort that out.’

Chelsea sit fourth in the Premier League table ahead of their next clash with Brentford, trailing leaders Arsenal and Manchester City by five points after four matches.

Their opponents Brentford kicked off the new campaign in spectacular fashion, sweeping Tottenham aside in a 3-0 victory at the Gtech Community Stadium.

However, Keith Andrews’ men have drawn their last three matches against Leeds, Sunderland and Bournemouth and will be looking to put another dent in Chelsea’s title ambitions on Friday night.

The Bees held Chelsea to a 2-2 draw on home soil last season before suffering a 2-0 defeat in the reverse fixture at Stamford Bridge.

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