Cole Palmer’s best season at Chelsea came in his first season at the club, in terms of numbers. During the 2023-24 season, Palmer had a hand in an enormous 42 goals under Mauricio Pochettino.
Palmer joined Chelsea in the summer of 2023 from Man City for a fee of £40m. The England international has been a revelation since arriving at Chelsea, quite possibly the best signing of Todd Boehly’s era.
On Saturday, Palmer scored a hat-trick as Liam Rosenior guided his Chelsea side to a seventh win in his ninth match as manager. It saw Palmer overtake Didier Drogba, netting 51 goals after 114 appearances.
Cole Palmer is the best signing of the Todd Boehly era, there’s no debate 🤩
After 114 Chelsea outings, Drogba had only managed 49. But Palmer is some way off his best, and he admitted that himself over the weekend, clearly aware that when he is fully fit, he will be back to his best.
Mauricio Pochettino explains how to get the best out of Palmer
But if Rosenior is to take advice from anyone regarding Palmer, it is Pochettino. Certainly, Palmer has netted four goals and laid on two assists during Rosenior’s stint, despite only playing in five of nine.
On the High Performance Podcast, former Chelsea manager Pochettino explained how he approached getting the best out of Palmer and how any manager, including Rosenior, must treat the Englishman.
Liam Rosenior, Manager of Chelsea interacts with Cole Palmer
Photo by Chelsea Football Club/Chelsea FC via Getty Images
“With Cole Palmer, you cannot say – move from here to there. That is your movement, and it’s mechanical. No no. Of course, it [has to be] mechanical in some aspects of the game when you don’t have the ball.
“But after, it is your quality and your capacity to understand the game. What is the demand of the game, the situation, your intuition, the capacity to see a space, arrive or to dribble and shoot,” Pochettino said.
“We are not going to cut this potential, this is why football is so emotional, because a player like him has the capacity to create that emotion that makes people go crazy,” the former Chelsea boss continued.
What is interesting is that after the Europa Conference League final, Palmer said that he had grown tired of Chelsea playing the ball sideways. With Real Betis leading the final 1-0, Palmer changed the game.
What are you enjoying most about Liam Rosenior’s football? 🤩
Robert Sanchez quotes on Chelsea manager Liam Rosenior
Photo by Chris Lee – Chelsea FC/Chelsea FC via Getty Images
He ignored the tactics and tried something, and it came off. Palmer notched two assists in five minutes for Enzo Fernandez and Nicolas Jackson, and it would be the catalyst for Chelsea to go and win the trophy.
Perhaps a sign that Palmer needs freedom. As Pochettino says, “mechanical” instructions are not going to draw out the best version of Palmer. On Saturday, Rosenior said he wants Palmer to enjoy football.
“I love working with him, he loves being here, and hopefully he can really enjoy his football between now and the end of the season, because it will help us on the pitch,” Rosenior said, on Chelsea’s website.
The first priority will be keeping Palmer fit and slowly building his minutes back to a point where he can play 90 minutes twice in a week. At the moment, that is not the case for the 12-time England playmaker.
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