Chelsea boss Rosenior responds to Cole Palmer homesick reports: ‘Huge part of our plans’ | OneFootball

Cole Palmer is absolutely not homesick and is “very, very happy” at Chelsea, head coach Liam Rosenior has assured supporters.

Chelsea face Crystal Palace at Selhurst Park on Sunday before travelling to Italy to take on Serie A champions Napoli in a crucial Champions League game.

Liam Rosenior provides Chelsea injury update: Estevao, Palmer, Jorgensen

Speaking ahead of the match against Palace, Blues head coach Rosenior provided an update on several players, including Filip Jorgensen and Palmer.

“In terms of sickness, the players are coming back gradually to full health. We’ve had to be very careful with that,” Rosenior told reporters.

“Estevao was very ill. Jamie Gittens was very ill. That altered our plans over the week in terms of what we wanted to do, but thankfully the lads have come through that, Enzo [Fernandez] as well.

“Cole is in a good place. He joined training today, which is really positive. We’ll assess his reaction to training.

“Jorgensen had his scan, which is not as bad as first feared. He won’t be available for Palace but could, potentially, be available for Napoli.”

Is Cole Palmer homesick? Chelsea boss Liam Rosenior responds

There has been some speculation about Palmer’s Chelsea future amid reports he is homesick in London and wants to return to Manchester.

Rosenior was quick to insist the former Manchester City youngster is “very happy” at Stamford Bridge.

“I’ve had numerous conversations with Cole and he seems very, very happy to be here,” the 41-year-old manager said. “He’s a huge part of our plans in the long term. He’s an outstanding player.

“Every player goes through difficult times in his career because of injury. I don’t think it’s any reflection on his quality.

“My job and the club’s job is to get him in a place where he can consistently perform at the level he wants to.

“There was frustration in the Brentford game, not because he isn’t happy here, just because he was in pain and couldn’t perform to the level he wanted to for the club.

“He’s a great kid and an outstanding player, but we have to make sure we look after him in the right way. That’s why I didn’t involve him in the last game.”

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Rosenior admits it is now up to him to get Palmer back to his best after recovering from injury.

He added: “That’s my job now. I want to look after the players — not to be nice to them — but so that they perform at their peak level.

“There are a number of players in our group we have to manage in a different way and not just force them out when they can’t perform.

“I’ve got trust in the group. I’ve rotated the squad and I will continue to do that because I want us to be involved in big competitions at the end of the season.

“We’re in January. I want to make sure we come through this period with wins, but also with our players in full health, and Cole is one of those players.”

Will Chelsea sign Douglas Luiz?

Chelsea have been linked with Nottingham Forest midfielder Douglas Luiz, and Rosenior outlined the requirements for any player the club signs in the January transfer window.

“Unfortunately Dario [Essugo] picked up a really unfortunate injury,” Rosenior said when providing an update on his midfield situation. “He slipped in training and is going to be out for over a month, which is a real shame because he’s an outstanding player who I was really looking forward to working with.

“Romeo [Lavia] is on the way back, which is great because he’s a very, very good player at a very high level.

“In terms of my midfield options, I’ve got Enzo [Fernandez], Moi [Moises Caicedo], Andrey Santos and Reece James. It’s not bad.

“I don’t want to bring in players who don’t enhance the group or the chemistry we’re building. We have to be selective at this stage of the season. If we do bring in a player in a certain position, they have to have a clear impact on the team.”