Cole Palmer might be considered the marquee star at Chelsea, but that won’t be reflected in the bonus payments handed out if the club wins the Europa Conference League. The Blues face Real Betis in Poland tonight and have the opportunity to become the first English club to complete a full set of European trophies.
It would also signify the club's first silverware under Enzo Maresca. The Italian manager has already overseen Champions League qualification following Sunday’s 1-0 win at Nottingham Forest and has used the Conference League to give his inflated squad game time this season. Indeed, Palmer was left out of the squad for the entirety of the group stages in order to manage the forward’s workload.
As a result, the 23-year-old has appeared just five times in the competition. It’s Kieran Dewsbury-Hall and Tyrique George in line for the biggest lump sum, having played in all 14 games on the road to Wroclaw.
Keeper Filip Jorgensen, who for much of the Premier League campaign played second fiddle to Robert Sanchez, is next on the list with 13 appearances. Benoit Baidiashile and Tosin Adarabioyo have both made 12.
However, Palmer is unlikely to be overly perturbed by being low down on the list of payouts. Last summer, he penned a new nine-year contract with the club worth around £130,000-per-week, with those figures likely to be supplemented by goal and performance bonus clauses.
Chelsea stars also reportedly received a handsome bonus for securing a top-five finish. However, Maresca has this week insisted they need to beat Betis in order to cement a successful season.
"The message in the last 48 hours has been, we did something important,” he said. “But if we want to confirm that we are becoming an important club, we need to show the desire to win the title and to win the game. It's a final.”
Despite previously fielding second-string line-ups in the competition, Maresca is expected to field a strong XI tonight. Palmer is considered a certain starter, while it has already been confirmed that Jorgensen will play ahead of Sanchez.