Latest news with #ColePalmer
Yahoo
6 hours ago
- Sport
- Yahoo
'Decision to make' – Top insider opens up on Chelsea's striker plans for the summer
'Decision to make' – Top insider opens up on Chelsea's striker plans for the summer Chelsea are planning for Liam Delap and Nicolas Jackson to be their strikers for the upcoming season according to Matt Law. The Blues are once again set to be busy in the summer and have already completed the signing of Liam Delap from Ipswich for £30m. Advertisement More new faces are expected to follow Delap through the door with the club targeting a versatile forward, centre back and left winger. Chelsea planning for Delap and Jackson to be the strikers Chelsea suffered at times last season without an alternative to Jackson but have moved quickly to address the issue by signing Delap. Delap has taken the number nine shirt and impressed in his debut Premier League campaign with 12 goals for an Ipswich side who got relegated. Chelsea will hope Delap is the man to score them goals. (Photo by Darren Walsh/Chelsea FC) The 22-year-old will add a much needed different dimension to Chelsea's attack, and Cole Palmer believes Delap is one of the best strikers in the Premier League. Advertisement There's been talk of bringing in another striker, but Law has now provided an update on the situation and what Chelsea's plans are. 'If a club did come in with a big bid for Jackson, that would give them a decision to make, but unless a club comes in for Jackson, I think that they're gearing up for Delap and Jackson being the number nines,' he told The London Is Blue Podcast. Jackson facing uncertain future? Jackson had a difficult campaign last season and managed just ten goals in the league, although he did score in the Conference League final. More Stories / Latest News 'Decision to make' – Top insider opens up on Chelsea's striker plans for the summer Advertisement 13th Jun 2025, 05:45pm 'The situation is different' – Matt Law provides major update on Trevoh Chalobah's future 13th Jun 2025, 05:15pm Former Chelsea player speaks out about Liam Delap and 'cursed' number 9 13th Jun 2025, 04:45pm The Senegal international has been linked with a shock move to Manchester United, although Maresca has admitted he really likes Jackson. If Chelsea do sign another striker it will be interesting to see what happens, but right now it's likely Jackson will be at the club next season.
The Sun
11 hours ago
- Entertainment
- The Sun
Cole Palmer reveals bizarre reason he wore mask on Chelsea's Club World Cup plane and says even Maresca didn't know why
COLE PALMER wants to follow in the footsteps of football's icons by taking on the challenge as Chelsea's No. 10. Yet he is fast becoming one himself as his career shoots for the stars. Palmer has been handed the coveted shirt number from team-mate Mykhailo Mudryk, 24, who is facing doping charges and a potential four-year ban. 3 3 Images of Chelsea's most gifted player are plastered across every advertising banner, hoarding and online publicity shot as Fifa cash in on his growing fame at the Club World Cup. While Palmer talks of his admiration for Lionel Messi, Wayne Rooney and former Blues No .10 Eden Hazard, it is slowly dawning on him that he is being swiftly elevated in status too. The forward, 23, said: 'I wore No .10 growing up. 'Messi is the big one, Rooney and players like that. It's an iconic number.' Hazard wowed Blues fans from 2012 to 2019 and Palmer added: 'I've seen him a few times at the training ground. He asked me for one of my shirts for his sons. To see him was nice, we had a conversation.' Fame does not come easy for this understated lad from Manchester. Palmer football. 'Back home I get recognised. At the start, it was a bit 'wow', but now I get used to it. JOIN SUN VEGAS: GET £50 BONUS 'It's just a game of football at the end of the day, like it's not life or death. 'So I just try and enjoy it. I like to go and play five-a-side and go to the astro. I like PlayStation. I just do things a normal kid would do.' Former Chelsea and Real Madrid star Geremi handed five-year ban from football activity after row with Samuel Eto'o Three Flamengo players to watch Flamengo boost some recognisable players in their sqiuad... JORGINHO - FAMILIAR Face for Chelsea fans, well those in the UK anyway. Might not be so over here in the US. But a Champions League winner with The Blues in 2021. He was an acquired taste for the supporters, they saw him as a symbol of the derided 'Sarri-ball' of former boss Maurizio Sarri, who won them the Europa League and finished third in the Premier League. DANILO - DEFENDER Who will also be recognisable to English soccer fans. A defender with Manchester City for two seasons. Was not a mainstay of the team but still collected two Premier League titles - successive ones between 2017 & 2019. FILIPE LUIS - A LEFT BACK Who also played for Chelsea. Bought from Atletico Madrid by legendary Blues boss Jose Mourinho. He was drafted to fill the boots of iconic left back Ashley Cole but it never quite worked out. He stayed only one season and made barely a dozen appearances. 3 Palmer can wave goodbye to normal as the face of the new Blues. His off-the-cuff style and habit of turning games on their heads in split seconds make him a huge draw. After training this week, he was mobbed by dozens of schoolchildren. American kids who have grown to love him from 4,000 miles away. Chelsea play Flamengo on Friday evening and Palmer has a special reason to play even better against the Rio giants. He said: 'Well, my uncle lives in Brazil and messaged me to say they're one of their biggest clubs and that's all they are talking about, so I expect it will be a good game. He messaged me to say please score. 'Playing a game every three days in this heat is difficult but it's bringing us closer together as a team.' One image of Palmer that sent shockwaves through Fifa saw him getting off the plane wearing a face mask. Boss Enzo Maresca wrote the whole thing off as a practical joke. But Palmer explained: 'It wasn't a joke I just don't like the smell of planes. That's why I wear a mask. 'Nothing else. Enzo doesn't know, I didn't tell him, but he didn't ask me to be fair.' Mudryk will be issued with a new squad number once his issues over a positive test for banned substance meldonium is resolved. Palmer said: 'I have not spoken to Misha yet but I will when the time is right.'
Daily Mail
11 hours ago
- Sport
- Daily Mail
'It's not a joke!' Cole Palmer reveals why he wore a face mask when Chelsea flew to the Club World Cup
Cole Palmer has revealed the reason why he wears a face mask while travelling, after being spotted landing with his Chelsea side ahead of the Club World Cup wearing the disposable covering. Palmer jetted to the United States fresh from international duty with England to the club's initial training base in Philadelphia. From there, the squad moved to Atlanta ahead of their first match of the campaign against Los Angeles FC. The Blues won the clash 2-0 in front of a predominantly empty Mercedes-Benz Arena, with just 22,000 fans in the 75,000 capacity venue. But ahead of the tie, Palmer found himself scrutinised over his somewhat unusual travel set-up rather than his form, with reporters keen to learn if the star was suffering health-wise. When asked why he had been wearing a mask en route to America, Palmer revealed that he hadn't been sporting it due to illness, or for a laugh. 'It weren't a joke, I just don't like the smell of planes,' Palmer said. 'So that's why I wear a mask. 'When I travel, I feel like the smells and that, I just don't like them. 'Stuff like (the air-conditioning), so that's why I wear masks, not anything else.' Palmer added that he 'hadn't told' his team-mate Enzo Fernandez, who had suggested it might be for a joke when queried on the attire previously. The 23-year-old distinguished himself against MLS opposition on Monday night, but his head coach Enzo Maresca revealed after the clash that he is keen to keep pushing his star player after he had shared that he was 'sick' of style of play in the team's victorious UEFA Conference League final. 'I had a short conversation with Cole and I said to him that I really like the way he was today,' Maresca told reporters. 'He took responsibility, showed initiative on the ball. 'He was trying to receive the ball, go one-v-one against players, and this is the Cole we expect. 'After the Conference League final, he said he was bored when receiving the ball, so he decided to do something different. The Blues star had been somewhat critical of the style of play the team deployed in their UEFA Conference League final 'The day after that interview, I said to him that he could do it from the first minute and why did he wait so long? Why not do the same after one minute? 'Today he was exactly doing that, and we are happy when he does that. I've said many times Cole is our best player, a top player, and hopefully he can continue to do the right things.' Maresca will hope that his new No10 shows similar initiative in the side's second group-stage clash on Friday evening. The west London outfit are set to play Brazilian giants Flamengo at Lincoln Financial Field in Philadelphia in the second of three round-robin ties.
BBC News
11 hours ago
- Sport
- BBC News
Maresca yet to speak to Mudryk after anti-doping charge
Chelsea manager Enzo Maresca says he has yet to speak to Mykhailo Mudryk since the forward was charged with violating the Football Association's anti-doping rules but insists the player retains the club's support. Ukraine international Mudryk, 24, was provisionally suspended by the FA in December after an "adverse finding in a routine urine test" and now faces a potential four-year who at the time of his suspension said he was in "complete shock" and had "never knowingly used any banned substances", last played for Chelsea in November but attended the Blues' Uefa Conference League final win in Poland last month in a private capacity."Mischa is a Chelsea player and - as a Chelsea player - I trust all the Chelsea players," said Maresca. "I spoke with Mischa at the Conference League final in Poland but I haven't spoken to him since. "When I spoke to him he was quite good, I didn't see him worried or not good, he was good and okay but I haven't spoken to him since that day so I don't know how he is now."Chelsea signed Mudryk from Shakhtar Donetsk in January 2023 in a deal worth up to £89m, and he is under contract at the club until June who cannot currently train with the club, has scored 10 goals in 73 appearances in all competitions for the Blues. Palmer wanted number 10 shirt to emulate Messi Star attacker Cole Palmer has taken Mudryk's number 10 shirt and wore it for the first time in Chelsea's 2-0 win over Los Angeles FC at the Club World Cup. Speaking on Thursday at the club's training base at Subaru Park, home to MLS side Philadelphia Union, Palmer said he had not yet spoken to his team-mate but "will when the time is right".Asked why he had wanted to wear the number 10 shirt, 23-year-old Palmer said it was to emulate his footballing idols."I wore number 10 all my life growing up and I just like the number," he said. "It is an iconic number, which makes me think of Messi and Rooney."When in Manchester City's academy, Palmer sent a private message to Belgium winger Eden Hazard, a former wearer of the number 10 shirt at Chelsea, but did not receive a response. Palmer said Hazard still hasn't replied to his message but added: "I have met him a few times at the training ground. He asked me for one of his shirts from his sons." Meanwhile, Maresca said he will rotate "three, four or five players in every game", with his team next facing Brazilian giants Flamengo at Lincoln Financial added that he expects winger Noni Madueke to remain at the club despite links to Arsenal.
BBC News
12 hours ago
- Entertainment
- BBC News
Palmer on fame: 'I think, why me?'
In Cole Palmer's mind, the 22-year-old is still the same ambitious young footballer that messaged Eden Hazard, but his life has changed markedly in the last two England international has become a household name and is now described by Enzo Maresca as "Chelsea's best player".Palmer is on billboards advertising the Club World Cup in United States host cities and been given the no10 shirt, once worn by the legendary when asked about his newfound fame, Palmer said: "Yes, I am just a normal kid so when people do stuff like [notice me], I think… why me?"Obviously in restaurants I get recognised. At the start, it was a bit wow, but now I get used to it. I still do the same things now that I did before I came to Chelsea."I try and think it's just a game of football at the end of the day, like it's not life or death. So I just try and enjoy it. I like to go and play five-a-side, PlayStation and go to the Astro [turf] and just do normal things [to take my mind of things]."It has been quick in terms of how fast it has happened but it is a nice feeling and if I keep performing and keep doing stuff hopefully it will get better and bigger."What highlights Palmer's change in status was he once messaged Hazard while an academy player in 2015. Of course, the message went unreplied and unread. When asked whether Hazard replied yet, Palmer said: "Nah," but added: "I have seen him a few times at the training ground. He asked me for one of my shirts for his sons."Palmer has also taken Hazard's iconic no10 shirt, explaining: "I wore no10 all my life growing up and I just like the number, so yes, it is an iconic number, which makes me think of Messi and Rooney."He is also seeing a team built around him with fellow Manchester City academy graduates, with Liam Delap – who joined in a £30m move from Ipswich - rekindling a former partnership from their youth days. They, along with Romeo Lavia, won Premier League 2 for the Under-23s in 2021 under now Chelsea manager Enzo Maresca and Palmer explained: "I played with Liam for a number of years when he started at City. I just know where he is going to be, and I like to find him and hopefully I can assist him a lot this season."The Blues next face Flamengo in the Club World Cup in Philadelphia's Lincoln Financial Field and Palmer's uncle has provided some Brazilian knowledge. "My uncle has lived in Brazil for over 10 years and messaged me to say they are one of the biggest clubs in Brazil and please score," he continued. "Apparently, that's all they are talking about so I expect it will be a good game."
