Former Blue Mario Melchiot believes this season will be different for Cole Palmer because players will know what to expect from him.
Palmer took the Premier League by storm last season following his deadline day move from Manchester City last summer and scored 22 goals and provided 11 assists, which saw him named Premier League Young Player of the Year.
He took his fine form onto the international stage and made a big impact for England at Euro 2024, his first major tournament and scored the equaliser against Spain in the final.
Melchiot’s warning to Palmer
Palmer didn’t take part in Chelsea’s pre-season tour of America as he was having a well earned break following his exploits with England.
He returned to action for his first minutes of pre-season in last Sunday’s draw against Inter Milan as he came on as a half time substitute.
The 22-year-old knows Enzo Maresca from their time together at the Manchester City academy, but it will take him a little bit of time to adapt to his demands and Palmer could find himself playing more centrally under the Italian.
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Palmer will once again be a key player for Chelsea, but former Blue Melchiot has warned him things will be different this season as people will know what to expect from him.
“He is a great talent, last season he was a joy to watch,” he told talkSPORT.
“He had freedom. He had the feeling that I want to expose myself in the sense of like, ‘I want to prove to you guys how good I am’, and I think that was his key thing.
“I think this season it will be different for him. Why? Because we expect it. People also expect to face him that he is going to play like that, so they are going to try to stop him.”
Despite only playing 45 minutes in pre-season Palmer should be in line to start in Sunday’s opening game against City at Stamford Bridge and you wouldn’t bet against him producing another brilliant campaign.
