Sport

Palmer injury could spell trouble for Maresca

Enzo Maresca’s Chelsea reign has been very intriguing. In some ways, he has over-performed, but there is something about him and the team that is yet to fully convince. Now Cole Palmer has been confirmed as injured for the next six weeks, it could be make or break for the Italian at Stamford Bridge.

The entirety of Todd Boehly’s ownership has been chaotic, which is rather fitting in itself. Boehly led a consortium which bought the club in 2022 after Roman Abramovich was forced to sell in the wake of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, and is yet to build the sort of rapport with the fans that Abramovich had.

Chelsea became one of Europe’s biggest and most successful clubs under his watch, albeit his approach never seemed sustainable. Managers and players came and went with such regularity that there was rarely a sense of continuity, but standards were always maintained at a high level.

Under Boehly, standards slipped, but change remained the only constant. This iteration of Chelsea seems obsessed with youth and innovation, finding the best players they can, buying them in extreme quantities and handing them to a coach known more by reputation and philosophy than tangible success. The irony is that Chelsea are believed to have one of the best youth set ups in the
world, but they have constantly been buying players, which has made fostering any sort of identity and cohesion impossible for an ever-growing list of managers.

Graham Potter was their first hire, on a five-year contract with promise of time to put his vision in place; but instant gratification is part of Chelsea’s culture, so he didn’t last. Frank Lampard, Chelsea’s best ever player and former manager, returned in an interim role to appease supporters who were already unimpressed with Boehly. Mauricio Pochettino followed but lasted a year.

Then, last season, Maresca entered. He’d just guided Leicester City to promotion from the Championship in his first managerial post, but hardly convinced all their supporters in the process. It was a bold appointment from Chelsea at a similar time to Vincent Kompany being given the Bayer Munich job despite being relegated with Burnley a year after he coasted to the second tier title.
Once again, the irony is difficult to ignore. Young, exciting, ‘progressive’ coaches getting two of the biggest jobs in football off the back of success in the Championship, when the gap in quality to the Premier League has seldom been bigger.

But Kompany won the Bundesliga with Bayern, regaining it from Bayer Leverkusen and Maresca guided Chelsea to the Champions League for the first time under Boehly while winning the Europa
Conference League and Club World Cup. It is hard not to credit them for these achievements given the criticism they received when taking the jobs.

Chelsea’s recruitment has improved somewhat in the last year or two. Willian Estevao and Joao Pedro have made particularly impressive starts to their careers, but Palmer has been the star. He was seen as a risk when the Blues paid £45m to sign him from Manchester City, but he has blossomed into a world class operator; the best vindication Boehly could make for his approach since the takeover.

Palmer is the heartbeat of the side, though Moises Caicedo and Enzo Fernández are also an impressive midfield pair. With Joao Pedro up front, Chelsea suddenly have a strong spine, but now they are missing Palmer, everybody faces a test, not least Maresca.

Some Chelsea fans have not warmed to the Italian and his style. He likes to dominate the ball, but his team are consistently better in transition, while he has struggled with having such a big squad. His man management skills have come in for serious scrutiny in recent months, particularly with unwanted players like Raheem Sterling and Axel Disasi still at the club.

There were times last season when Maresca was under pressure, but he found form at the right time and the narrative around his reign completely changed with silverware. Too often, there has been an over-reliance on Palmer, and a dip in form personally transcended into the entire team struggling. Without him, Chelsea, and Maresca, must learn to adapt quickly.

If they don’t, the bubble of positivity which has inflated over recent months could burst very quickly.