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Opinion
Enzo Maresca has made a big mistake with Cole Palmer which Mauricio Pochettino never did at Chelsea
Whilst Cole Palmer is still influencing games at Chelsea, the England international is undoubtedly having a less effective season under Enzo Maresca.
Palmer arrived at Chelsea from Manchester City at the start of last season and had an extraordinary first campaign at Stamford Bridge under Mauricio Pochettino.
In 48 appearances in all competitions, Palmer registered 27 goals and provided 15 assists — numbers that any Premier League player would be proud of.
This term, the 22-year-old has scored 14 goals and given nine assists in 39 games, numbers that are down on last season.
It’s a very simplistic way to look at the midfielder’s contributions, but by all accounts Palmer is having less of an impact for Chelsea this season, and it’s largely down to Maresca’s plans.
Cole Palmer is suffering because of Enzo Maresca’s tactics
In contrast to Pochettino, a manager in which Palmer thrived under, Maresca has a very rigid shape to his team.
And to put it bluntly, Palmer is not benefitting from his new role as a system player — he’s an instinctive playmaker who needs freedom.
When Maresca was first appointed by Chelsea it did feel as if Palmer’s peaks might suffer, and that they have.
Interestingly, when speaking on The Overlap towards the end of last year, Glen Hoddle somewhat unintentionally foreshadowed Palmer’s decline under Maresca.
Hoddle spoke about how the Englishman plays best when he’s allowed freedom — something he gets much less often under Maresca.
Hoddle said: “The kid Palmer looks unbelievable — Palmer is an interesting one because if he stays attached to the game and just plays like, for me he’s like a player who plays in the playground.
“Playing in the playground there’s no shape, give me the ball and I’ll show you what I can do.
“He’s like that and if he doesn’t change I think he could elevate himself to be a superstar and go probably ahead of [Phil] Foden in many ways.
“But it’s the question mark – can he do that over the next coming seasons?”
Cole Palmer’s Mauricio Pochettino verdict
Interestingly, when speaking with Optus Sport a few weeks ago, Palmer spoke glowingly about his time playing under Pochettino.
Palmer said: “It was good to play under him. I spoke to different people who worked with him and they said that he was good at working with young players. When I came, he was brilliant with me.”
READ MORE: Fabrizio Romano shares how safe Enzo Maresca’s job is at Chelsea now
Of course, it might be a little harder to find Palmer speaking in a similar vein about life under Maresca right now.
Despite their relatively indifferent season, it seems as if Chelsea will stick with Maresca going into next season.
And perhaps Chelsea will continue to see a slightly watered-down version of the player they grew to love under Pochettino.