Cole Palmer continues to stand out for Chelsea despite a much-improved team compared to last season. For coach Enzo Maresca, ‘he could be’ the best player in England at the moment.
Cole Palmer seems to be unaffected by pressure. He provided another example of this in last Sunday’s London derby against Tottenham Hotspur (4-3): the 22-year-old took a penalty six minutes before the end and casually scored with a panenka to make it 4-2. “I looked at the clock and thought, ‘It’s a bit hectic and the game is completely out of hand’. The keeper is ready to dive, so I thought, ‘If I chip the ball, it’ll go in,’” the attacking midfielder revealed in an interview with Sky Sports.
Such trains of thought set him apart from many other players – at least according to his coach Enzo Maresca. “A lot of top players have this kind of attitude. They look as if they almost don’t care, but it’s just their way, and this way gives them more freedom, they can relax, and you can see that Cole feels the same way,” said Chelsea’s coach at the press conference before the home game against Brentford.
100% penalty conversion rate after twelve spot kicks
However, the Italian is not surprised by this. Five years ago, when the two were still working together at Manchester City’s U23 team, the attacking midfielder had this coolness, according to Palmer. This trait also helped Palmer to set two records on Sunday. Firstly, he is now the first player ever to convert his first twelve penalties in the Premier League and, secondly, no Blue before him has ever scored more Premier League points in a calendar year (Palmer currently has 39).
“I’m very proud and privileged to work with Cole. Cole is different from the rest, but we have a lot of good players here that would make any head coach, in this case me, feel happy and proud to work with,” Maresca explained.
On Tuesday, the coach had already suggested that his protégé “could be the best player in England at the moment”. Nevertheless, Maresca still sees room for improvement. “He’s only 22, so he can do many, many things better. He has to learn and is learning at the moment that everyone is marking him,” explained the 44-year-old.
The Bees will probably try to stop him on Sunday (8 p.m.) as well. However, it seems likely that Palmer will still break his club record despite this, given his odds.
