Chelsea star Cole Palmer is poised for an unexpected change of position for the Blues under Enzo Maresca in the 2024-25 Premier League season, according to a report.
The 22-year-old England international had an outstanding debut season at Stamford Bridge after making a £40m transfer from Manchester City in September 2023.
Palmer scored 22 goals in the Premier League and 27 across all competitions for the Blues last season, while also bagging 15 assists.
While he ended the season five goals behind Golden Boot winner Erling Haaland, Palmer did top the Premier League charts in goal contributions with 33, one more than Haaland and Ollie Watkins.
Following his most productive domestic campaign, the 22-year-old head to Germany with Gareth Southgate's squad for Euro 2024 and left his mark on the competition, coming off the bench to score in the final against Spain.
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Palmer set to play more influential role next season
Palmer operated mainly as a right-winger during his time at Manchester City and under former Chelsea manager Mauricio Pochettino, but The Sun claim that he is set to operate in a new role in the upcoming season.
With Maresca now at the helm, Chelsea are expected to play a more 'possession and passing' style of football, while implementing a high press when out of possession.
The report adds that the Italian manager is likely to operate with two players operating in a number-eight role, one of which will be Palmer.
It is understood that Maresca also has a preference for rapid wide players and moving the England international more centrally will allow the new Chelsea boss to bring in a winger that suits his style.
The Blues were linked with a move for Michael Olise but are believed to have now shifted their attention to Euro 2024 star Nico Williams after the former Crystal Palace man was snapped up by Bayern Munich.
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What will Palmer's positional change give Chelsea?
In addition to his goal contributions last season, Palmer also recorded 72 chances created and an 83% pass completion rate, mainly from out wide.
Moving the 22-year-old into a more central position will likely lead to him seeing more of the ball and allow him to have a greater impact on the side's build-up play.
The positional restructure could also enable Chelsea to get the most out of the likes of Noni Madueke and Mykhailo Mudryk, whose game times were restricted with Palmer and Raheem Sterling operating in the wide areas for the majority of last season.
Madueke is currently a part of the squad that travelled to the US and started the Blues two pre-season matches so far against Bournemouth and Wrexham.
Many suspect that the second number-eight spot will be filled by newly arrived Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall, which creates the possibility of an exciting all-English partnership being formed in the middle of the park for the Blues next season.
Devesh Jaganath
