Mauricio Pochettino admits he has struggled to fit Noni Madueke into the Chelsea XI because of Cole Palmer’s glowing form in the same position.
Chelsea spent £30m to sign Madueke from Dutch club PSV in January 2023 and he has conjured up seven goals and one assists across 37 games to date.
Palmer, who joined Chelsea from Manchester City for £42.5m this summer, has made the same amount of appearances but has been far more productive.
The 21-year-old has scored 19 goals and registered 13 assists in 37 games for Chelsea and Pochettino must now work out a way to fit both players in his XI.
Quizzed about Madueke’s potential on Friday, Chelsea boss Pochettino said: ‘First of all it’s about to have the space for him.
‘Because when the club signed Cole Palmer, he (Madueke) was also here at the club and they’re in the same position.
‘It’s all about adaptation and trying to find the dynamic where him and Palmer can play together.
‘Hopefully he can be consistent playing in the starting XI and show his quality. But always it’s about to find the right balance in the team.’
Pochettino’s job at Chelsea is under threat amid a poor debut season which sees his side ninth in the Premier League table with eight games left.
It was reported in February that Chelsea were considering whether or not to replace Pochettino with Jose Mourinho.
Mourinho was notorious for his ‘park the bus’ tactic but Pochettino is adamant that he would never want his team to play that way.
Asked if he’d ever ‘park the bus’, Pochettino said: ‘No (laughs). I don’t want to be philosophical about that.
‘You translate to the players, the philosophy and who you are. It is impossible for us to go and park the bus.’
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