MICHAEL OWEN has insisted Enzo Maresca is playing Cole Palmer out of position.
Chelsea fell to an abject 2-0 defeat to Manchester City at Stamford Bridge on Sunday – and Palmer barely got a look in.
The England forward, 22, looked a shadow of himself from last season, where he often single-handedly guided Chelsea’s output.
Neither Palmer or Christopher Nkunku could get a look in from the wings and were limited to passenger roles for much of the afternoon.
While Palmer started on the right-wing, he excelled in a No.10 role last season, scoring 27 goals and bagging 15 assists for the Blues.
And former Liverpool striker Owen believes Palmer needs to be given a freedom role to create and dictate from the middle.
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He told Premier League Productions: “Chelsea have bought so many players that can play on the right-wing, haven’t they?
“You’ve got players who aren’t even in the squad who can play in that position too like Raheem Sterling.
“I’m sure the manager watched how good Palmer was last season and the position he played in and everything else.
“And you would just think that when you’re picking a team, your best players play in their best positions and you fit around them.”
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While Palmer can play wide and even as an 8 from deeper, it is widely agreed that he is at his best when driving through the centre of the pitch.
But he did play wide for England at the Euros, providing an assist and scoring in the final after arriving from the bench on both occasions.
Owen added: “I would prefer him to be at his best and getting more of the ball in a more central area.
“If I was the manager, he’d be first on the team sheet in his favoured position and then I’d work around it.
“But it seems like they’ve bought so many players that they’re trying to shuffle the pack.
“We heard the manager before the game say Palmer can play in any of those positions around the front and I’m sure he can.”
Palmer last season and Maresca’s dilemma
Palmer joined Chelsea from Man City for £40m plus add-ons and enjoyed a sensational debut campaign.
The attacking midfielder would go on to pick up the Premier League’s Young Player of the Season award last season after returning 22 goals across 34 Prem matches for Chelsea.
He is contracted to Stamford Bridge for the next nine years, after extending his stay for another two seasons this summer.
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Maresca, though, has a conundrum on his hands in terms of squad selection, as club chiefs keep adding to their near £1.2billion spent on transfers since Todd Boehly arrived in 2022.
Chelsea have several wingers on their 43-man roster waiting on the side-lines for minutes, and have just added Joao Felix from Atletico Madrid to the mix.
Source: Soccer - thesun.co.uk
