Liam Rosenior has identified five Chelsea players as “special talents” ahead of his first game in charge at Stamford Bridge on Wednesday, when the Blues face Arsenal in the Carabao Cup semi-final first leg. The interim boss singled out Cole Palmer, Moises Caicedo, Enzo Fernandez, Pedro Neto, and Estevao as exceptional talents.
Rosenior, who took his first training session at Cobham on Monday, is hopeful of having Cole Palmer, Reece James, and Malo Gusto available for the Arsenal match after they were rested for Saturday’s FA Cup win at Charlton. A late decision will be made on their fitness, but their return would be a major boost.
Discussing how to get the best out of Palmer, Rosenior said: “Cole is a special talent. So is Moises Caicedo or Enzo Fernandez or Pedro Neto or Estevao. My job is to get to know him, to connect with him, to understand what gets the best out of him - and that takes time. The scary thing with Cole is he has already got world-class ability but he's only 23.”
Palmer’s season has been disrupted by a recurring groin injury, limiting him to just three full 90-minute appearances. Explaining his omission at Charlton, Rosenior said: “To risk a player's health in January is a crazy thing to do if you have the ambition that you want to be strong at the end of the season. I want to give him the licence to go and do what he loves to do, which is create and score goals.”
