Any hopes West Ham fans had of star Cole Palmer missing tomorrow’s Premier League clash have been dashed by Chelsea’s new manager, Enzo Maresca.
Palmer had been omitted from Chelsea’s European squad, leading some to speculate that he would not be available to travel to the London Stadium tomorrow. However, the West Londoners appear to have an almost fully fit squad to choose from, following an excellent second-half performance against Bournemouth last weekend.
“The reason why Cole was out of the squad in the Europa Conference League is just to protect him a little bit,” Maresca told reporters.
“For Cole, it’s a mix in terms of it being a very tough season for him last year, and we just try to protect him.”
The scenario could have been very different had circumstances allowed, with Palmer potentially lining up for tomorrow’s match in the claret and blue of West Ham. When the Hammers were on the cusp of selling Lucas Paqueta to Manchester City at the beginning of last season, David Sullivan and Tim Steidten were in advanced negotiations to bring Palmer in as the Brazilian’s replacement.
As they say, the rest is history. Paqueta was forced to defend an FA charge for betting irregularities, prompting his transfer to Man City to collapse. As a result, Palmer moved to Chelsea instead.