Enzo Maresca will be counting his blessings that Mason Mount never signed a contract extension at Stamford Bridge. Maresca may never have had the pleasure of working with Cole Palmer at Chelsea if the higher powers had done so.
Mount left the Blues last year to join Manchester United in a deal worth £60million, including add-ons. The deal raised eyebrows, with months of contract extension talks prior proving unsuccessful.
The midfielder has struggled since leaving his boyhood side, spending four months out with an injury in his debut campaign at Old Trafford to limit him to just 14 league appearances.
Mount is hoping to make up for lost time this season, but he has again had niggles while United’s poor form has led to Erik ten Hag struggling to settle on his first-choice midfield trio in what has been an all-too-familiar pattern for the England international over the past few years.
Chelsea have moved on since striking a deal with United for their ex-No. 19 though, with the sensational form of Palmer ensuring that there is no reason to doubt Todd Boehly and co for green-lighting the deal.
The former Manchester City star has asserted himself as one of the best players in the Premier League since touching down in London, scoring 22 goals and registering 11 assists last season.
Palmer has picked up where he left off in the 2024/25 campaign as well, bagging six goals and registering four assists in six matches. He also made history over the weekend against Brighton, becoming the first player to score four goals in the first half of a Premier League match.
The playmaker is capable of playing on either wing but has shone when being deployed as a No. 10, with Maresca giving him the creative freedom to drift across the front line and influence play where he deems necessary.
Speaking after Palmer’s masterful performance on Saturday, Maresca said: “I just said to Cole, he scored four but he could have scored two or three more. It is important he continues to be hungry and ambitious.
“I know Cole from many years ago. I had him for one entire season at City and then the first team. The best thing he has is the way he is today as a boy, he was exactly that way two or three years ago.
“So, goals and assists, the best player in the Premier League; this does not change the way he is. He is a simple guy, a humble guy – and for me, this is the most important thing.”
Mount meanwhile was a substitute as United lost 3-0 to Tottenham – and given Palmer is always available, Maresca will be grateful to have him.
