Enzo Maresca names the Chelsea star who is ‘the strongest’ in fitness tests
Chelsea head coach Enzo Maresca has launche a passionate defence of Cole Palmer and insists the club’s star player isn’t struggling physically.
The England international starte the season หากคุณสนใจเล่นพนันออนไลน์ที่ดีที่สุด สามารถสมัครสมาชิก UFABET ได้ที่นี่ พร้อมรับโปรโมชั่นพิเศษสำหรับสมาชิกใหม่ in scintillating form, picking up where had left off the previous campaign, leading Jamie Carragher to suggest he deserve to be regarde 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 dippe ever since.
The 22-year-old cut a frustrate figure during the course of last week’s damaging defeats against Aston Villa and Brighton, while his own personal goal drought has now stretche 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.
Indee, the Chelsea boss remains adamant that their is no 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 place in jeopardy the club’s chances of qualifying for the Champions League for the first time since 2022.
Maresca was aske whether failing to return to Europe’s top competition could prompt players, chiefly Palmer who has score 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 worrie in this moment about next year that he wants to play Champions League. He is just focuse on how he can help the team, how we can help him.”
The head coach joke: ‘I think Cole signe 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.