Maresca on Palmer and Zola comparisons: ‘They are quite similar in terms of quality’ | OneFootball

Enzo Maresca believes Cole Palmer has similar traits to Gianfranco Zola after he was compared to the Chelsea legend.

Palmer starred for Chelsea once again after he played apart in both of the Blues’ goals in their 2-1 win against Newcastle United, scored the second.

The 22-year-old sent Pedro Neto through on goal with a sensational curling pass round the Newcastle defence before the Portuguese star set up Nicolas Jackson for the opener in the first half. The visitors equalised midway through the first period through Alexander Isak, but Palmer fired a powerful shot into the bottom corner two minutes after the interval to set Maresca’s men on their way to victory.

When told that Palmer only knew of Chelsea legend Zola through the game FC25 in response to comparisons between the two, the Italian believes there are similarities with how both play.

“This is exactly what I was telling to you: I don’t think Cole knows Gianfranco,” Maresca said. “But they are, to be honest, quite similar in terms of quality. I’m from Italy, so I know Gianfranco quite well. I don’t think we can compare both. The only thing I can say, Gianfranco was and Cole is still a quality player.”

Maresca also praised the former Manchester City player for his attitude as his stardom continues to rocket with every passing week:

“I said many times, for me, the best thing about Cole is that he has never changed. I had him three, four, five years ago and he is exactly the same way. In the end, the reason why people come to the stadium is to see people like him, so they pay to see that kind of player. We are happy to have him.

“I think you can improve if you are not a guy who is always talking and is always helping. You are the way you are and this is almost impossible to change.

“What you can do is work on that and try to improve. With Reece, with Cole, with all the squad. We are quite young, we need to build leaders. Sometimes when you don’t have, you have to build a leader. It doesn’t mean you are going to change people, because no, but if they can improve on that and they can do something more, it’s good.”