Chelsea star Cole Palmer has established himself as one of the best attacking midfielders in the world since departing Manchester City in 2023. And, the United States men’s national team (USMNT) boss Mauricio Pochettino has shed light on how Palmer can play better.
Chelsea Told How To Best Treat Cole Palmer
Speaking recently on The High Performance Podcast, Pochettino revealed how the Blues ace should be coached to maximize his talent as a free-roaming number 10 player.
“With Cole Palmer, you cannot say, ‘Move from here to there’. That is your movement, and it is mechanical. No. Of course, it (will be) mechanical in some aspects of the game when you don’t have the ball. But after, it is your quality and your capacity to understand the game,” Pochettino, who managed Chelsea in the 2023-24 season, commented.
The USMNT head coach further insisted that Palmer should be allowed the freedom to make his own decisions in the final third for the betterment of the west London club.
“What is the demand of the game, the situation, your intuition, the capacity to see a space, to arrive or to dribble and shoot. We are not going to cut this potential. This is why football is so emotional… because a player like Cole Palmer has the capacity to create the emotion that makes people go crazy,” the former Tottenham Hotspur boss added.
Palmer, who enjoyed his best Chelsea campaign under Pochettino, has endured a stop-start 2025-26 season due to multiple injuries. However, the 23-year-old has still managed to net eight goals and provide two assists in 17 total club matches this term.
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Meanwhile, current Blues head coach Liam Rosenior labelled the left-footed ace as a ‘world-class’ player after his hat-trick in a 3-1 league win at Wolverhampton Wanderers.
“We know what a world-class player he is. He has played a lot of football over the last year with not much rest, but when he is at his best… he’s unstoppable. I love working with him, he loves being here, and hopefully he can really enjoy his football between now and the end of the season, because it will help us on the pitch,” he told the Blues’ website.
The Manchester City youth product, who suffered with groin and thigh injuries earlier in the season, has made 114 appearances across all competitions for the Blues. He has found the back of the net 51 times and laid out 31 assists for his side so far.
