Enzo Maresca claims Chelsea sold forward in summer partly because of Cole Palmer | OneFootball

Chelsea head coach Enzo Maresca has opened up about Christopher Nkunku's departure in the summer and how Cole Palmer played a part in it.

Nkunku joined AC Milan on a five-year contract for a reported £36m in August after spending just two years at Chelsea.

Unfortunately, the two years he spent at Chelsea were marred by plenty of injury struggles.

The 27-year-old missed a total of 54 games through fitness-related issues for Chelsea and France during this period, mostly due to a knee injury in 2023 and a hamstring issue in 2024.

He still made 27 Premier League appearances for Chelsea last season when he was mostly fit, but most of them (18) were as a substitute.

According to Maresca, Nkunku occupied the same areas of the pitch as Palmer, which eventually led to his transfer to Milan.

IMAGO / Sportsphoto

"He's strong, I've said it several times," the Italian told La Gazzetta dello Sport when asked about Nkunku.

"We have Cole Palmer in his position and it would have been difficult for him. But he's a strong player."

Based on this, it is pretty clear that Maresca saw Nkunku as a second striker rather than a wide forward.

Unfortunately for the former RB Leipzig ace, he had to compete with Palmer, a brilliant number 10, for a position behind the striker at Chelsea.

IMAGO / Sportsphoto

In addition to that, Nkunku's output of three goals and two assists in the Premier League last season did not really help justify playing him ahead of Palmer or even the wingers such as Pedro Neto and Noni Madueke, who all had better numbers.

To put it into perspective, Palmer provided 15 goals and eight assists for Chelsea in the Premier League last term.

Chelsea have since replaced Nkunku and Madueke with even younger attacking players in Estevao, Alejandro Garnacho, and Jamie Gittens.

Maresca admitted that having a young squad comes with its drawbacks despite the benefits.

"The advantage of managing such a young group is linked to energy, the disadvantage could be from an experience point of view," he concluded.