‘Trust me’: Pochettino sends Chelsea important new Cole Palmer message

Mauricio Pochettino wants Chelsea to trust him to help Cole Palmer as he becomes more and more famous. Pochettino has been in similar situations before, managing players like Harry Kane, Dele Alli, and Kyle Walker at Tottenham. He helped them handle the pressures of fame and playing for their countries.

Palmer has been doing incredibly well lately, scoring 20 goals in the Premier League and 25 in all competitions since joining Chelsea from Manchester City for £42.5 million last summer. As Chelsea gets ready to play against City in the FA Cup semi-finals at Wembley, Pochettino believes he’s the right person to guide Palmer through his rise.

Pochettino said, “He needs to deal with new things. It’s not a criticism. Different challenges will come up, and he’ll need to know how to handle them. Our job as coaches is to help him and his support system understand how to deal with these new situations. We have the experience to deal with this, and the club needs to trust us. Without that trust, it’s hard to do our job.”

Chelsea had a big win against Everton on Monday, with Palmer scoring four goals, including a hat-trick in just 29 minutes. But Pochettino still sees areas where Palmer can improve.

He said, “Even though he’s scored a lot of goals, we still push him to do more. Scoring goals is great, but he also needs to work hard on defense and when we don’t have the ball. He’s doing well, but there’s always room for improvement.”

There was some drama during Monday’s match when Noni Madueke and Nicolas Jackson argued over who should take a penalty before Palmer eventually scored in the second half. Pochettino talked about how he’s handled Madueke’s reaction to the incident.

“We need to be careful with young players and not be too harsh on them. We want to help them understand their mistakes without being too harsh. It’s tough for them, especially when they see new players coming in who play in their position. They have to fight for their place in the team, and that’s not easy. We’re trying to give them the tools they need to compete and improve.

“We’ve had some issues, like the penalty situation, but overall, I’m happy with Madueke’s progress. It’s important for young players to understand what we and the club expect from them. They need clear guidance and support from us. Dealing with a young squad requires patience and care.”