Chelsea head coach Enzo Maresca has launched a passionate defence of Cole Palmer and insists the club’s star player isn’t struggling physically.
The England international started the season in scintillating form, picking up where had left off the previous campaign, leading Jamie Carragher to suggest he deserved to be regarded as the best player in the Premier League.
Ex-Liverpool defender Carragher made the claim in December following a 4-3 win at Spurs that nobody had outperformed Palmer over the course of the previous 18 months, but his performances, like that of his Chelsea side, have dipped ever since.
The 22-year-old cut a frustrated figure during the course of last week’s damaging defeats against Aston Villa and Brighton, while his own personal goal drought has now stretched to six games.
Chelsea will hope to get their season back on track against bottom of the table Southampton this evening and Maresca expects Palmer to be to the fore despite concerns about the forward struggling physically.
Indeed, the Chelsea boss remains adamant that their is any sign of the former Manchester City star struggling in training, revealing that the fans’ favourite is continuing to lead the way.
Asked if Palmer trains harder when things aren’t going well, Maresca said: ‘Yeah absolutely. I will tell you one detail that is very important.
‘Every six or seven months we do a physical test. So we did one in pre-season and we did another last week and [Palmer] was the strongest one. The one that won the test.
‘So that’s sure that he has desire not only on the ball, but he is working hard and he’s doing fantastic. I absolutely love that.
‘Every game, we expect a goal or assist from him. Because everyone relies on Cole, people see Cole as the solution. But the solution at the end has to be always the team.’
Chelsea’s slump, meanwhile, has placed in jeopardy the club’s chances of qualifying for the Champions League for the first time since 2022.
Maresca was asked whether failing to return to Europe’s top competition could prompt players, chiefly Palmer who has scored 39 goals for the club since the start of last season, to agitate for a move away from west London.
‘First of all we need to see how we finish. In case we don’t finish top four, we’ll see if Cole is happy or not,’ Maresca said.
‘I don’t think Cole is worried in this moment about next year that he wants to play Champions League. He is just focused on how he can help the team, how we can help him.”
The head coach joked: ‘I think Cole signed a new contract until 2045. For sure if we finish top four and play Champions League we can convince players to come here. But players that are already here, I don’t think we need that.’
Maresca, too, is is ‘more sure’ than ever that his side are on the right track despite their faltering league position.
Tuesday’s meeting with Southampton at Stamford Bridge sees them seeking just a third league win in 11 matches that would, for 24 hours at least, hoist them back into the top four and give the 45-year-old room to breathe.
;Now I am even more sure (than when) we started,’ said Maresca. ‘I don’t have any doubt about the idea. The problem is in general people judge the idea because of the results.
‘If I ask you one month ago if you are happy with the idea when we were winning every game and we were second, probably everyone would have said yes.
‘Now that we drop points, we are seventh, people have doubts about the idea. For me I feel even more strong about the idea. It’s just a matter of results.’
