Chelsea’s assistant manager, Enzo Maresca, has urged the club’s forwards to take on more responsibility when it comes to scoring goals. While Cole Palmer had an exceptional season last year, scoring 25 goals and providing 15 assists, Maresca believes that relying solely on Palmer for goals could put too much pressure on him. Instead, Maresca wants the entire attacking unit, which includes the wingers, attacking players, and the number 9, to contribute to the goal tally.
Maresca emphasized that scoring goals shouldn’t be solely Palmer’s responsibility, and that sharing the load among the attacking players would be crucial for the team’s success. He acknowledged that replicating a 20-goal season is challenging, even for top-level players like Palmer or Erling Haaland. Maresca wants to avoid putting too much pressure on Palmer, especially after signing a new nine-year contract, which could increase expectations.
Chelsea’s attacking options are plentiful, with players like Noni Madueke, Raheem Sterling, Mykhailo Mudryk, Christopher Nkunku, and Pedro Neto vying for starting spots behind the central striker, likely to be Nicolas Jackson. Maresca is still hopeful of signing another striker before the transfer window closes.
As Chelsea prepares to face Manchester City in their opening game of the season, Maresca is looking for his team to make an early statement. Last season, City drew both league games against Chelsea and beat them in the FA Cup semi-final. Maresca wants to avoid a repeat of the 4-4 thriller from last November, where Chelsea conceded four goals. He emphasized that while it would be fantastic to beat the reigning champions, the team’s priority is to compete and demonstrate their determination to win.
Looking ahead, former manager Harry Redknapp has made his predictions for the 2024/25 season. He believes that Arsenal, Manchester City, Liverpool, and Tottenham will make up the top four. Redknapp has a strong feeling for Arsenal this season, highlighting the aging stars at Manchester City as a potential factor. In terms of relegation, he predicts Everton, Southampton, and Leicester to struggle. Redknapp thinks Everton needs to go down to rebuild. He also predicts Erling Haaland to be the top scorer, Martin Odegaard to provide the most assists, and Tottenham to win the Carabao Cup, while Liverpool takes the FA Cup. Real Madrid is his pick for the Champions League, and Manchester United for the Europa League.
In terms of Chelsea’s squad, Maresca is pleased with the age and talent of the team, which has an average age of 24 years and 280 days. He believes that having a youthful squad is essential, but talent is the most important factor.
Lastly, there are several changes to the Premier League for the 2024/25 season. Team news will now be released 75 minutes before kick-off, the number of substitutes permitted to warm-up has increased to five players per team, and there are changes to how added time is calculated when a team scores a goal. Additionally, there have been updates to the ‘multiball’ system and the introduction of semi-automated offsides, although this change will not be implemented immediately.