Mauricio Pochettino does not believe Cole Palmer has anything to prove on his return to former club Manchester City on Saturday, saying the pressure won’t get to the Chelsea forward.
Palmer has been one of Chelsea’s standout players since arriving in a £40million deal last September, scoring 14 goals and adding nine assists in all competitions for the Blues.
The 21-year-old scored a stoppage-time penalty against his former club when he first faced them last November, as Chelsea fought back in a thrilling 4-4 draw at Stamford Bridge.
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On Saturday, Palmer will return to the Etihad Stadium for the first time since his move, with Chelsea looking to build some momentum after last week’s 3-1 win over Crystal Palace.
Pochettino expects Palmer to simply play his usual game, saying he will not be phased by the pressure of facing his former team-mates.
“He’s smart, clever, emotionally intelligent,” Pochettino said of Palmer. “He doesn’t care. He’s going to go there and play. He can play good or not so good, but it’s not because of the pressure.
“He’s not the type of player who needs to prove something. He’s very grateful for his period with City, he left the club because he needed to find another challenge and to play more.
“He has adapted very well, he’s been lucky because he’s playing a lot of games here. He’s going to be there, trying to play and perform for his team.”
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While Pochettino believes Palmer has adapted brilliantly since joining Chelsea, he feels it would be unfair to say City might regret selling him, given the talent in their ranks.
“Today someone from the club staff said to me; he’s from Manchester but he looks Brazilian or Argentinian. He has the capacity to adapt so quickly,” Pochettino added.
“I think South American people come to Europe and we survive, we adapt very quickly. Sometimes people who come down from Manchester to the south, or go from the south to the north, they find it difficult to adapt.
“For him, he arrived at the club and adapted very quickly to life here. That helped him to show his talent.
“City have an amazing squad, and of course they made the decision. Sometimes we make decisions which are for best for the team. That doesn’t change someone being a good player or not.
“It’s unfair to say they would regret it. Man City are doing really well, and sometimes it’s not easy to find the space for a young guy.”