Cole Palmer
Cole Palmer spoke to Gianfranco Zola about his game
Enzo Maresca has to tell Cole Palmer to go home sometimes because the Chelsea star is addicted to training.
Palmer is firmly established as Chelsea’s star player following his £42.5million transfer from Manchester City in September 2023. He has already contributed 32 goals and 20 assists in 59 matches across all competitions and is a key player for Maresca.
The 21-year-old has an effortless playing style which sees him drift into space in front of the opponents’ defence before springing into action. Palmer may give the impression that everything comes naturally to him, but his play is in fact the result of lots of practice.
Before Chelsea’s league match against Aston Villa this weekend, Palmer spoke to Chelsea legend Gianfranco Zola at the club’s Cobham training ground to film a ‘Masterclass’ for the Premier League YouTube channel.
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Asked whether he stays behind after every session, Palmer replied: “Yeah, if Maresca lets me! It’s too much sometimes. [I would stay all day] if I could.”
Palmer can afford to train hard during the week because he is not part of Chelsea’s squad for the Europa Conference League. The Blues play FC Heidenheim in the competition on Thursday night, but Palmer is not part of the squad who have flown out to Germany.
The England star has been compared to Zola and he gave the Italy legend some insight into his upbringing. Speaking about playing in the park with his dad, Palmer said: “I think it was important because it was just fun. My friends were there, my dad was there and we just tried different skills and different things and I was just enjoying it.
Cole Palmer has made waves for club and country
Cole Palmer is Chelsea's key player ( Image: Getty Images)
“Because I was always the smallest, playing with the older ones, it made you realise you had to work more on your skills. I think now I’ve caught up to everyone in height and stuff, I find it easier. I was smaller so I would just get pushed off the ball or the ball taken off me or kicked so I would have to think more.”
That is something Zola will be very familiar with, having thrived despite his own small stature. He recently explained to Mirror Football what Palmer needs to do to take his game to a new level.
“He needs to work a lot on his game, of course, because he is still young and there are things that can make him better,” Zola said. "One thing for sure he can work on is his physique. He can get a little bit faster and maybe a little bit stronger in one-on-ones.
“I know his mind is very quick. He will have to get his body a little bit quicker. But seeing him when he first played for Chelsea and seeing him now, I can see how much ground he has covered, I can see him also covering other ground – and if he does that, he can be in contention for the Ballon d’Or because the numbers and the skills are there.”
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