Chelsea boss Enzo Maresca has eluded to what he thinks Cole Palmer's best position is ahead of the Blues' return to Premier League action.
Palmer, who was recently named both England's Player of the Year and September's Premier League Player of the Month, has started in numerous positions for both club and country this term, including on the right flank and as a central attacking midfielder.
In quotes shared by Chelsea' official website on Wednesday, Maresca opened up on Palmer's tactical role within his team.
"He can play in different positions for us because he is so good on the ball," he explained. "He can play wide, in the middle, as a nine."
The Italian boss said that despite Palmer's versatility, however, he mostly prefers to play the Englishman in the pocket behind a striker.
"We try to use him in one position at the moment in the middle of the pitch," he said. "But it depends a little bit on the game plan we have and sometimes we move him wide a little bit like he did many times against Brighton."
He added: "We try to give him the opportunity to enjoy his football because, with him, that is the main thing."
What Cole Palmer is like in training
As well as talking about Palmer's role in his Chelsea team, Maresca also gave an insight as to what Palmer is like on the training pitch.
The Italian, who previously worked alongside Palmer at Manchester City, described the 22-year-old as a "kid."
"You can see how much he enjoys his football," he said, adding: "He always wants the ball, to play and to enjoy. He is so happy."
"You can see in sessions; he is always one of the first around the ball and wants the ball. It is the main point," he said.
Palmer joined Chelsea from Manchester City for a fee of £40 million in the summer of 2023.
While at the time eyebrows were raised over the fee, the Englishman has since proven to have been worth every penny, and them some.
In 57 games for the Blues, he's scored 33 goals and provided 20 assists – statistics that in the same time period are unmatched by any other midfielder in Europe's top five leagues.
Chelsea next take on Liverpool at Anfield on October 20.
Comments