Christopher Nkunku has joined Cole Palmer with criticism of previous tactics at Chelsea
Christopher Nkunku will not look back on his Chelsea career with too many fond memories.
While Nkunku did win the Club World Cup and Conference League trophies during his time there, the forward picked up some bad injuries and was not a starter.
When Nkunku was able to play, he was not exactly happy with the instructions he was given.
When asked about his failed Chelsea spell, the Frenchman said via The Athletic: “I don’t want to complain, and I don’t complain. I could do things better also.
“Chelsea was more like, ‘You need to stay in your position’. If you play as a winger, you needed to stay on the (touchline) and just do one-v-one. This is something I can do, but not all the game because I need to switch position and drift.”
Nkunku was not the only one at Chelsea who was unhappy with the tactical instructions he was getting.
In a recent interview with Sky Sports, Cole Palmer discussed how Xabi Alonso has given him more freedom at Chelsea, whereas in the past, similar to Nkunku, he was not allowed to go into certain positions on the pitch.
Speaking about his goal against Fulham at the start of the season, Palmer said: “He [Alonso] just said I’d have more freedom to drift about the pitch. Just like you saw [against Fulham] with the goal I scored.
“Last season, I wouldn’t have even made that run because it’s not a ‘safe zone’. But he’s saying move across that zone, drop into play, come get on the ball, create and just do what you do.”
Chelsea fans, how do you feel about Enzo Fernandez’s exit after his bright display in the Manchester derby?
Nkunku missed most of his first season at Chelsea under Mauricio Pochettino because of injury so is likely to be referring to his time working with Enzo Maresca.
With that in mind, Maresca would argue that Nkunku also struggled at AC Milan before joining RB Leipzig in the summer. He will feel that Nkunku’s failures have nothing to do with his tactics and his Milan spell proves it.
Whatever the case, Nkunku grew unhappy at Chelsea and will now be hoping that he can make a more positive impact at Leipzig.
As for Palmer, it would not be a surprise if he was also talking about Maresca. That is the past, though, and it is now time for the England international to move on, which he seems to have done.
Palmer has made a stunning start to the season, scoring two goals and setting up two more in just four Premier League games. Palmer was excellent against Hull City, using his new found freedom to cause real damage to Sergej Jakirovic’s defence.
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