Cole Palmer and Noni Madueke were in deep conversation after Chelsea’s defeat to Arsenal (Sky Sports)
A lip reader has revealed what Noni Madueke told Cole Palmer in the immediate aftermath of Chelsea’s defeat to Arsenal in the Carabao Cup semi-final on Tuesday night.
Palmer started on the bench for the game at the Emirates Stadium and was brought on as a second-half substitute with Chelsea needing to overturn a 3-2 defeat from the first leg at Stamford Bridge.
However, Liam Rosenior’s side struggled to trouble Arsenal, who went on to snatch a late 1-0 win with Kai Havertz’s goal in injury time to secure their place in the Carabao Cup final against Manchester City at Wembley on March 22.
After the full-time whistle, television cameras caught Madueke having a conversation with his former teammate Palmer as they left the pitch.
According to professional lip-reader Nicola Hickling who studied the footage for Compare.bet, Madueke was talking to Palmer about his hopes of making England’s squad for the World Cup this summer.
Madueke is said to have told Palmer: ‘That’s what I’m saying to you. You know what the plan is. Just come back. It won’t harm you. Take it. You should play at the World Cup.’
LONDON, ENGLAND - FEBRUARY 03: Liam Rosenior Head Coach of Chelsea with Cole Palmer after the Carabao Cup Semi Final Second Leg match between Arsenal and Chelsea at Emirates Stadium on February 03, 2026 in London, England. (Photo by Marc Atkins/Getty Images)
Cole Palmer looked unhappy as he spoke with Liam Rosenior after Chelsea’s Carabao Cup exit (Getty)
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In his response to Madueke, Palmer partially covered his mouth but Hickling claims to have been able to read part of what he said, ending his comment back to his former Chelsea teammate with the phrase, ‘at fault here’. Madueke responded and appeared to say: ‘Yeah, okay.’
Speaking at his press conference on Thursday, Rosenior insisted Palmer ‘understands the bigger picture’ as he continues to manage the 23-year-old’s minutes due to a recurring groin injury.
‘What we’re doing with not just Cole, all of the players. We have the very best medical team. We have the very best sports science team. We do many tests. We want to make sure that these players can play at the level that they need to play at to help us win,’ Rosenior said.
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‘So, in terms of Cole, there isn’t a time frame where he’s going to be perfect in a month or two months or three months. It’s just game-to-game. And that’s the way that we’ve been working with him. And I think that is the way we will have to continue working with him and a few of our players.
‘He’s been magnificent. He’s been magnificent. He wants to be playing every minute of every game. We know the player that he is, the character that he is, but he’s also maturing as a human being. And he understands the bigger picture, which is his career.
‘Bearing in mind, I’m very conscious of this, the lads played in the Club World Cup and then they went through the summer with no break. And they’ve got to play so many games. Our schedule has been crazy. Then they have World Cups to go to and international games to play.
‘I want to make sure that the wellbeing is correct for these players, for their careers as well.’
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