Chelsea boss Enzo Maresca insists that Cole Palmer is NOT safe from being dropped – and reveals what England star ‘has to improve’ on
- Enzo Maresca says Cole Palmer has to adjust to being marked by humans
- Maresca admitted he wouldn’t be afraid to take Palmer out in matches
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Cole Palmer must do more to avoid being ruled out of games. The Chelsea manager adds that even his England superstar is not safe from being dropped.
Strange as it may sound, given Palmer’s reliability since signing from Manchester City for £42.5m and his ability to become Chelsea’s match-winner in the blink of an eye, some supporters are calling for Joao Felix to be given more opportunities in his 22 years of life. -old creator.
That shouting followed Chelsea’s 0-0 draw with Everton, when they missed the summit and Felix was an unused substitute. Discussing the situation before taking on Fulham on Thursday, Maresca said of Palmer being man-marked: “He still needs to improve things in those moments.
‘Mainly because when you get frustrated you lose focus on the game. Certainly, game after game he will understand more about when they mark him man to man, how to move.
‘We already protected him in the Conference League and that’s why he wasn’t in the selection. That’s why he always starts in the Premier League.
‘(Wesley) Fofana always started in the Premier League because he didn’t play in the Conference and (Romeo) Lavia is the same. But that doesn’t mean they’ll always keep playing.’
Enzo Maresca says Cole Palmer needs to do more to avoid being human-marked for anonymity in games
Maresca praised Palmer’s overall contribution but says he could take further action
Maresca stated that he does not know if Christopher will ask Nkunku to leave the club
The Chelsea boss admitted he finds claims that Pep Guardiola is ‘done’ amusing
Asked whether Palmer would play all the time, having started every Premier League game under him, Maresca said: “I make the decision one game at a time. Goals and assists and how he helps us. Him and Nicolas (Jackson), they not only score goals but also help us with the pressure and intensity.”
Meanwhile, Maresca suggested that next month he would sanction the sale of any player who tells him he wants to leave, although he does not know whether Christopher Nkunku will express a desire to leave.
Nkunku plays second fiddle to Jackson and Maresca said: ‘The focus is on the Fulham game. We are not thinking about players wanting to leave.
‘If they knock on the door and want to leave, I don’t say, “No, you have to stay here 100 percent.” If they want to leave, it is best for everyone that the players who are unhappy leave.
“We love Christo and we want him here. There will always be players who are unhappy and some will ask to leave in January. I’m not sure if this will be the case of Christo or any other player. We want to keep them here because we are happy with them.’
Maresca spoke to his former boss Pep Guardiola by phone on Monday and said it makes him laugh when critics claim the City manager is done.
“Absolutely, 100 percent,” Maresca said, finding it all amusing. ‘Pep is completely calm and knows exactly what happened there. If you are involved in football you can see that with the amount of injuries they have, this is not normal.
‘But the one thing we know in football is that people, because of the situation they are in, wait for something bad to happen so they can be happy. When you see someone be so successful, season after season, and then he or she falls away, people like to say, “Ah, look, he’s not good enough.” But I don’t think that’s the right thing to do.”