Liam Rosenior has poured cold water on speculation that Cole Palmer has grown unhappy at Chelsea and could possibly be on his way out of the club next summer.
A report from The Sun on Monday suggested that Palmer was ‘unsettled’ in London, two-and-a-half years on from his £42.5million transfer move from Manchester City.
Palmer grew up supporting Manchester United and the 23-year-old was said to be missing his hometown and ‘open’ to the prospect of a sensational switch to Old Trafford.
Nonetheless, Palmer is taken into account to be certainly one of Chelsea’s ‘untouchables’ and only signed a brand new contract last 12 months, tying him to Stamford Bridge until June 2033.
The England international has been nothing in need of a revelation for Chelsea, establishing himself as some of the exciting attacking talents in Premier League football since departing City.
It’s proven a frustrating season for Palmer this term, though, with groin, toe and thigh injuries limiting his playing time and impact for the Club World Cup holders.
Palmer made his first – and only – appearance under recent boss Rosenior in Chelsea’s 2-0 victory over Brentford earlier this month, playing the total 90 minutes and converting a second-half penalty on the Gtech Community Stadium.
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But Rosenior has been keen to administer Palmer’s workload and the forward was ignored of the club’s last two games against Pafos and Crystal Palace within the Champions League and Premier League respectively.
Asked if Palmer had returned to Chelsea’s squad to face Napoli on Wednesday night, Rosenior confirmed: ‘He’s here.’
In a while in his press conference, Rosenior moved to reassure Chelsea fans that there was little truth to the recent rumours surrounding Palmer’s future.
Asked whether Palmer was each ‘untouchable’ and ‘glad’ at Chelsea, Rosenior replied: ‘Yes and yes.
‘It’s easy. Cole is an incredible player, just like the guy sat next to me [Moises Caicedo] and plenty of players within the group.
‘I’m not surprised on the timing [of the speculation] – a brand new manager is available in and impulsively there are people unsettled. It’s not true.’
The previous Strasbourg head coach added: ‘Cole is here, he’s very glad and I can’t wait to see him back on the pitch.’
Despite the swirling speculation surrounding Palmer’s way of thinking, Rosenior has felt no need to talk with Chelsea’s hierarchy over their position on the matter.
‘There’s no reason for any assurance. It’s so unrealistic,’ he explained.
‘It’s come from nowhere. There is no such thing as a must have the conversation. Cole is glad.
‘You’ll be able to’t stop speculation but some speculation is up to now from the reality and there is no such thing as a point having a conversation about it.’
Chelsea’s 24-man travelling squad for Napoli
Goalkeepers: Filip Jorgensen, Robert Sanchez, Freddy Bernal, Max Merrick
Defenders: Josh Acheampong, Benoit Badiashile, Trevoh Chalobah, Marc Cucurella, Wesley Fofana, Malo Gusto, Jorrel Hato, Reece James
Midfielders: Moises Caicedo, Enzo Fernandez, Andrey Santos
Forwards: Liam Delap, Alejandro Garnacho, Tyrique George, Jamie Gittens, Marc Guiu, Pedro Neto, Joao Pedro, Cole Palmer, Estevao.
Rosenior is relishing the chance to check his wits against certainly one of his Chelsea predecessors in Antonio Conte when his side take to the sector in Naples.
‘I even have huge respect for him, firstly as a player,’ he said of Conte.
‘He went on to have an incredible profession. His passion as a player transmits to his teams now.
‘He’s gone on to prove what an incredible manager he’s.’
On Conte being the last manager to win a Premier League title with Chelsea, Rosenior added: ‘I feel for a club of Chelsea’s stature, yearly that goes by, you need to win it yearly.
‘The problem for any club is that there are loads of fine teams which can be competing. But that’s the aim for us.’
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