Cole Palmer has to become a “killer” if he wants to get his Chelsea and England careers back on track, according to ex-Blues captain Marcel Desailly.
Palmer will have plenty of time this summer for reflection on a disappointing season for Chelsea, where they finished 10th in the Premier League, missing out on Europe.
But the crushing news of a call from England boss Thomas Tuchel to tell him he had been left out of the squad for the upcoming World Cup was the final hammer blow of a horror campaign. Desailly said: “I feel that the talent is there – no doubt – but mentally he’s not a killer.
“Each top player has to be a killer inside himself.
“Because of the level he has reached, he has to step up. Even though he’s young, he has to protect his status and take responsibility for success and also for the problems the team faces.
“He needs to ask the coach to stop putting him right, left, up, down or striker. He needs to say, ‘No, I want to play as a No.10, adapt the system to me’.
● Marcel Desailly was talking exclusively to MrRaffle.com