The 2017-18 English football season is now underway and Sky Sports’ popular weekend show Soccer Saturday has subsequently returned.

Jeff Stelling is back for yet another season and so are his ‘gang’ - Paul Merson, Charle Nicholas, Phil Thompson and Matt Le Tissier.

Some viewers understandably feel it’s time for a change - the same four ex-professionals have been on the show for donkey’s years - but others would argue ‘why mess with a winning formula?’

Like every other pundit on TV, Merson, Nicholas, Thompson and Le Tissier receive their fair share of stick for voicing their opinions.

But of the quartet, it’s Merson who surely receives the most abuse.

The former Arsenal midfielder, famous for his disastrous attempts at pronouncing the names of foreign players, has said some truly daft things over the years.

But Sky continue to employ him presumably because your average English football fan can relate to him.

Merson's comments about De Bruyne from 2015

Keep an ear out for what he says about Manchester City’s Kevin De Bruyne over the next couple of weeks.

We’ve found a column of his from August 2015 in which he tears the Belgium international apart.

On the day before De Bruyne’s £55 million transfer from Wolfsburg to City, Merson wrote in the Daily Star: “Manchester City paying so much money for Kevin De Bruyne is an absolute joke.

“I thought he was out of his depth at Chelsea. He never once went out on the pitch and looked like he belonged there.

“I don't think he could handle it - and now he's going to City for about three times what Wolfsburg paid for him. Not for me.

“He'll be on the bench at City for a start, because you can't change a winning team. Who does he get in ahead of? No-one. They're all playing too well.

“But he didn't like it when he was on the bench at Chelsea and he ended up getting bombed out because Jose Mourinho questioned his attitude.

“Okay, he's had a good season in Germany. But there are only a few decent clubs there really, aren't there? It's not the Premier League.

“I just think their money could have been better spent elsewhere. They need a forward. Aguero and Bony are not enough.”

Oh, Merse. Merse, Merse, Merse.

De Bruyne is one of the PL's best players

Following his move to the Etihad Stadium, it didn’t take De Bruyne long to cement his status as one of the Premier League’s best players.

The 26-year-old may have struggled at Chelsea - he hardly got a chance at Stamford Bridge, in fairness to him - but it’s been a totally different story at City.

Merson also claimed Pedro was twice as good

But that’s not the only silly thing Merson said about De Bruyne in August 2015.

He also claimed that Chelsea’s Pedro was “twice as good” as the Belgian.

“When you think of the huge saga over the summer for Kevin De Bruyne between Manchester City and Wolfsburg, Chelsea have got their winger with no fuss, and he's probably twice as good,” he told Sky Sports.

We’ll say it again: Merse, Merse, Merse.