It would be an understatement to say that we have not seen the best of Cole Palmer this season. Chelsea’s talisman has been quiet for the most part. He has spent several spells out on the sidelines. And even when he has played, that usual flair and quality has been missing from his game.
His persistent injury problems might have a lot to do with that. Palmer is coming off captaining Chelsea against Port Vale. And after that game, he suggested that he was finally feeling fully fit.
That is something that will excite Chelsea fans. Despite Palmer’s bad run of form, there is a recognition that he is the club’s best player when on top of his game. But he needs to be used to his strengths.
Liam Rosenior has not always done that. And he has been told to play Palmer in the number 10 role when Chelsea face Manchester City. Paul Merson wrote in his column for Sportskeeda:
The next two games will define Liam Rosenior’s future at Chelsea. I hope he plays Andrey Santos and Moises Caicedo in midfield. Pedro Neto and Estevao as the wingers and Cole Palmer in the no.10 role through the middle.
I’ve already said this many times, Palmer should always play as the no.10.
Rosenior told to play Palmer as a number 10 against Man City
There is a debate to be had about Palmer’s best position. Of course, Rosenior has often played him on the right. And even though he has the license to move centrally when Chelsea have the ball, at times it feels like he is not as involved as he needs to be.
Does that have to do with his positioning on the pitch? Or is there more to it? Almost everybody would agree that Palmer played his best football under Mauricio Pochettino.
In 45 games under Pochettino in his debut season for Chelsea, he scored 25 goals and provided 16 assists. Those are staggering numbers. Interestingly, he played a good portion of those games on the right flank. That did not affect his output at all. So, is it just the position, or the role that he is being asked to play?
Solving the Palmer problem won’t be easy for Chelsea boss
Last season, Palmer had started the campaign in phenomenal form. It dropped drastically in the second half of the campaign. But why?
Had Palmer already started to deal with his groin issue? Was it just a drop in form for a player who had been world-class in his first 18 months at Chelsea? Or had opposition teams figured out how to keep him out of games?
To be honest, we do not know the answer to that. It is easy to point towards his injury problems or his role on the right flank. But solving the Palmer problem won’t be as simple as playing him as the number 10.
