Chelsea’s Enzo Maresca hints at unexpected position switch for Cole Palmer ahead of FA Cup showdown with Brighton

ENZO MARESCA has warned that Cole Palmer may need to alter his position to assist Chelsea in overcoming their injury troubles.

The Blues are preparing to meet Brighton in the fourth round of the FA Cup tonight, as their attacking options have been heavily affected by injuries.

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Strikers Nicolas Jackson and Marc Guiu both suffered injuries during Chelsea’s 2-1 win over West Ham at Stamford Bridge on Monday.

This leaves Christopher Nkunku and Palmer — who previously played centrally for Maresca at Manchester City’s academy — as the primary choices to lead the attack.

Maresca remarked: “We have players available. Christo has experience playing as a nine. I’ve used Cole as a nine in the past. We can explore various solutions.”

“At this moment, we haven’t made any decisions since we are still waiting on Nico, after which we will consider different options.”

Palmer stands as Chelsea’s top scorer this season with 14 goals, mostly playing in the No10 position.

He began the season on the right during the 2-0 loss to Premier League champions City before reverting back to the center.

Nkunku trails Palmer with 13 goals this season, although just two have come in league matches.

He has supported Jackson, who has scored nine goals, but Maresca maintains that the Frenchman is best suited for the No10 role.

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Nkunku, who played on the left against West Ham, was linked with a transfer to Bayern Munich during the January transfer window.

However, he stayed in West London, and Maresca hinted that the former RB Leipzig player might see more playing time.

Cole Palmer showcases his goal-scoring abilities during Chelsea Training

Maresca stated: “I talked about Christo last week.

“In the match against West Ham, he played about half an hour, and I hope he can contribute more minutes moving forward.”

The Blues manager identified Nkunku as a crucial player who could help lessen the scoring pressure on Palmer.

He asserted: “We have only 14 [league] games remaining. Just 14 games, which isn’t a vast number.

“From the start, Cole has been in the lineup, so I don’t anticipate that to significantly affect him.

“Furthermore, we have Christo available for that role. We can rotate various players in these positions.”

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