Paul Merson believes Chelsea would want to avoid European distraction next season

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Paul Merson believes Chelsea are not interested in qualifying for the UEFA Europa Conference League and will instead want to focus on the Premier League next season.

The Blues still sit 10th in the Premier League table and are 11 points behind fourth-placed Tottenham Hotspur with a game in hand.

A top-four finish is mathematically still possible for Graham Potter’s men but with just 11 games to play this season, it is quite improbable.

Chelsea will likely continue to aim high, of course, but Merson expects that at some point, Chelsea would want to avoid finishing sixth or seventh, for which they may qualify for the UEFA’s third-tier competition.

“I think it’s going to get to a stage where they can’t want to get in the Europa Conference [League], surely,” Merson told Sky Sports (via Football Daily) when speaking about Chelsea’s season.

“Why would you want to get in that on Thursday nights?

“Chelsea have got a squad together to go and try to win the Premier League, not play on Thursday nights in Magaluf.”

The Europa Conference League spot is initially reserved for League Cup champions, but since this season’s winners are likely to finish in the top five, the spot will then go to the team with the next highest finish not already qualified for European competitions.

This also applies to the one of Europa League spots if this season’s FA Cup winners finish in the top four.

In other words, the Europa Conference League spot will go to either sixth or seventh place, depending on the FA Cup results.

But would competing in this competition really be detrimental to Chelsea’s Premier League title hopes?

Bear in mind that Chelsea have plenty of young talents who would still benefit from this playing in this competition.

Chelsea can avoid all these problems by winning the Champions League this season, but, of course, it is easier said than done.

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