Enzo Maresca on what makes “not normal” Chelsea star different to other young players

Enzo Maresca is someone who knows Cole Palmer really well – probably better than any other coach in football. The Italian was his coach in the Manchester City youth teams, and so has seen him develop from a really young age.

Speaking to Chelsea’s official website about the attacker’s development, Maresca pointed out that his favourite thing about him is just how little he’s changed in the time he’s known him, despite Palmer’s sudden rise to superstardom.

‘The best thing from him is that four, five years ago when he was with me in the Under-23s, he was one way and now after two years, 20-30 goals and everyone considers him one of the best, he is exactly the same guy,” Maresca pointed out.

“Loves football, humble, no strange things. This is the best thing for Cole and for young players, because today, young players if they play one game well, they already think they are [top] and they lose the balance. He is always the same, doesn’t change, and we are very happy with Cole,” Maresca continued.

“It’s remarkable. Cole belongs to that group that are not normal players. They are top players and they do things that normal players or us, we say, ‘how can he do that?’ He scored because he’s top. We can expect this from Cole.”

Maresca and Palmer a perfect personality match to get the best from each other

Palmer showed from the moment he stepped into the team that he’s different to most normal players, and has some level of natural ability that it’s hard to comprehend. But good coaching will still count for a lot, and Maresca seems the perfect choice to get the most out of him.