Jamie Carragher sends warning to Chelsea fans over Cole Palmer and Enzo Maresca

Jamie Carragher has warned Chelsea fans Cole Palmer ‘might not be the same player’ this season and predicted that Enzo Maresca will be sacked before the end of the campaign.

Despite Chelsea’s inconsistencies and shortcomings last season, Palmer enjoyed a sensational debut season at Stamford Bridge, scoring 22 goals and making 11 assists in 33 Premier League games.

Palmer enjoyed a fruitful relationship with Mauricio Pochettino and expressed his disappointment when the Argentine agreed to leave the job at the end of the campaign.

The 22-year-old – who impressed for England, albeit briefly, at Euro 2024 – will look to maintain his form under Pochettino’s replacement Enzo Maresca, who left Championship winners Leicester City to take over at Stamford Bridge.

Carragher says Palmer will likely kick on despite another summer of upheaval at Chelsea but insists there is no guarantee he will be the same player that dominated in the Premier League last season.

The ex-Liverpool and England defender also predicted Maresca would be the latest manager to lose their job at Chelsea before the 2024-25 season finishes.

Discussing Chelsea on The Overlap, Carragher said: ‘What people forget in this era of Pep [Guardiola] and [Jurgen] Klopp is that Chelsea were so close to breaking in.

‘They beat Man City in a Champions League final and then lost to finals on penalties to Liverpool. Thomas Tuchel could take on Klopp and Pep in one-off games.

‘Then this new ownership comes in and it’s just been a disaster in terms of where they find themselves now.

‘They’ve brought in all these new players but it’s only Cole Palmer who looks a tasty player.

‘My worry for Chelsea is that Pochettino deserves a lot of credit for how Palmer performed last season.

‘No one expected that, not even Pep, otherwise he wouldn’t have sold him. So they might not have that Cole Palmer this season.

‘I’m sure they will because I think he’s fantastic but a new manager has come in so it’s different.

‘The way Chelsea’s pre-season has gone… they’ve got Man City first game of the season… I’ll be surprised if Maresca is still the manager come the end of the season, very surprised.’

Chelsea play one more pre-season friendly, against Inter Milan on Sunday, before beginning their Premier League campaign on August 18 against defending champions Manchester City.

For more stories like this, check our sport page.

Follow Metro Sport for the latest news on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.