Palmer Rejoins Chelsea’s Conference League Squad for Copenhagen Showdown

Midfielder Cole Palmer is set to make his return to Chelsea’s Conference League squad on Thursday for the opening leg of their Round of 16 encounter against Danish club Copenhagen, according to manager Enzo Maresca.

This will mark Palmer’s first appearance in Europe’s third-tier competition since the qualifiers in August against Servette, as he was previously omitted from the league phase to carefully manage his workload.

The 22-year-old England international will be joined by defender Trevoh Chalobah and January recruit Mathis Amougou for the knockout rounds. However, defender Wesley Fofana and midfielder Romeo Lavia will not be part of the squad travelling to Denmark.

“Since we began, all decisions made have been aimed at protecting players. The same applies to Cole, Wesley, and Romeo,” Maresca told the media on Thursday.

“We have the flexibility to rotate players in the squad, and Cole has been included for this crucial part of the season. If he’s in the squad, he’ll definitely get some game time. Cole is always eager to play, be it matches or training sessions.”

This season, Palmer has recorded 14 goals and six assists over 30 appearances, although he hasn’t found the back of the net in his last seven games across all competitions. Nonetheless, the manager expressed that he is satisfied with the player’s contributions.

“I’m pleased with how Cole is performing, whether it was in the last match (a 4-0 home victory against Southampton) or the away game against Aston Villa (a 2-1 loss). I understand that there will be moments when he may not score, and that’s completely normal,” Maresca commented.

Chelsea advanced to the last 16 after finishing at the top of their league phase and the Italian manager emphasised that the Conference League holds equal importance to the Premier League at this stage.

Goalkeeper Robert Sanchez is poised to make his Conference League debut, taking the place of Filip Jorgensen, who has started the last six matches.