Cole Palmer was absolutely spot on with his pre-season prediction about Christopher Nkunku - opinion
What Cole Palmer said about Chelsea teammate Christopher Nkunku earlier in the year is now looking so accurate.
Chelsea have a lot of talented attackers in their squad to choose from, including both Cole Palmer and Christopher Nkunku.
Following the arrival of Enzo Maresca in the summer as Blues manager, Nkunku has mainly been used as a centre-forward. As a result, he’s found himself behind Nicolas Jackson in the pecking order for the Premier League games.
Nkunku, 26, deserves big credit for not sulking and still making a sizeable impact in the opening months of the season, despite the fact he’s only started once in the league.
Here is a look at the French attacker’s record for his club so far this campaign:
| Competition | Appearances (Starts) | Goals | Assists |
| Premier League | 7 (1) | 1 | 0 |
| Conference League qualifiers | 2 (2) | 2 | 0 |
| Conference League | 1 (1) | 1 | 0 |
| Carabao Cup | 1 (1) | 3 | 0 |
Interestingly, speaking via Sportskeeda last month, Paul Merson admitted he prefers Jackson over Nkunku for Chelsea. Jackson has four goals and three assists from his opening eight appearances across all competitions this term.
What Cole Palmer said about Christopher Nkunku
Chelsea star Palmer, 22, made a pre-season prediction about Nkunku that has turned out to be spot on.
When discussing Nkunku via Chelsea’s official website back in May, Palmer said: “Everyone knows his quality, even from RB Leipzig, before he came here. He’s been unlucky with injuries but if he can get firing and get fit you saw what he can do out there last night. So I think next season everyone will see how good he actually is.”
The evidence is already there this season that Nkunku is such an attacking threat when he’s on the football pitch, scoring goals at such a frequent rate.
Now, the France international has to try convince Maresca to start him in more games.
Can Enzo Maresca squeeze Christopher Nkunku into best XI?
Nkunku’s aim has to be back into the Chelsea starting line-up, and right now he couldn’t have done much more to impress when he’s played. Unfortunately, he’s having to show patience because Maresca is understandably sticking with a settled team in the league.
We support Palmer’s claim that Nkunku will deliver output when he plays, so how long will it be until the head coach is forced into a change of personnel or system?
We’d definitely like to see a Nkunku-Jackson partnership trialed at some stage if Maresca is brave enough to play two strikers. Alternatively, Nkunku definitely has the versatility to play in any central or wide attacking positions with his technical quality.
If the Frenchman keeps scoring week after week for Chelsea, the pressure to start him will only intensify.
from Latest Chelsea News and Updates - The Chelsea Chronicle https://ift.tt/5qo4WsE
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