Enzo Maresca insisted after Chelsea’s win over Leicester on Saturday that he’s “not thinking about Harry Kane”. Fair enough.
Nicolas Jackson and Enzo Fernandez scored for the Blues as Didier Drogba and Cesc Fabregas regens as Maresca’s side moved to within a point of Manchester City in second place ahead of their clash with Tottenham.
Cole Palmer started having failed to show up for England duty and after the game Maresca was asked about Kane’s criticism of his countrymen who pulled out of the recent Nations League clashes through injury.
“My reaction is that we finished the game ten minutes ago, we won 2-1,” Maresca said, when asked about Kane’s comments. “There is not any reaction, there is not any comments.
“We finished the game 10 minutes ago. I am not thinking about Harry Kane. I don’t have any comments about that.”
Asked whether the club put pressure on Palmer to skip England’s Nations League games against Republic of Ireland and Greece ahead of the busy festive period, Maresca said: “Absolutely not.”
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Palmer was a doubt for the clash with Arsenal ahead of the international break following a poor tackle by Lisandro Martinez in the previous game against Manchester United.
And the playmaker was on the end of another rough challenge against Leicester, with Wilfred Ndidi fortunate not to be shown a red card for going in studs up on Palmer’s Achilles.
Maresca managed Ndidi during Leicester’s Championship-winning campaign last term and defended the midfielder before calling for more protection from referees.
“I don’t think the target is Cole,” he added. “What I think, and what I said after Man United, is that when there is bad intention, it has to be a different kind of punishment from the referee.
“Man United, I think, was bad intention. I’m not saying Wilf was bad intention because I love Wild. But overall, when there is [bad intention] the punishment has to be different.”
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Jackson took his Premier League tally to seven for the season with his fine finish in the first half and his excellent form has meant that Christopher Nkunku has been limited to appearances from the bench.
That’s led Manchester United to be linked with a move for the Frenchman – who’s impressed in Chelsea’s games in the cups and in Europe – but Joe Cole insists Nkunku’s apparent frustration is a good sign for the Blues.
“If the biggest problem Chelsea have is a couple of player being unhappy and not getting enough game time, then you know the club’s in a healthy position,” Joe Cole told TNT Sports.
“Nkunku gives you something different to Jackson. Jackson’s a spinner who’ll run in behind, he’s aggressive, he’ll do a lot. Nkunku is clean and is a good finisher, he can play in a No.10 and can play off either side.
“I think they can complement each other and they will both get game time.
“I don’t mind it when players let it know when they’re not happy. It’s about how he conducts himself.
“When I look at Enzo Maresca, he’ll be dealing with that situation and Nkunku’s standards won’t be allowed to slip. He’s playing European football. He keeps scoring goals and he will get his opportunity to play.”
