Chelsea s Palmer unfazed by goal drought says Maresca

LONDON – Cole Palmer’s dry spell in front of goal has not had an adverse effect on the Chelsea attacking midfielder’s mood, manager Enzo Maresca said ahead of their English Premier League home clash with Leicester City on March 9.

The England international, who netted 27 goals and bagged 15 assists in a breakout campaign last season, has failed to score in his last eight games in all competitions and has missed a number of promising chances in recent matches.

“When you score a goal, you are more happy because your goals help the team to win. But overall Cole is fine. He’s happy. He knows he’s struggled to score goals in this moment, but that it’s something normal that can happen during the season. Watching him during the training session you don’t think it’s affecting him, he’s fantastic,” Maresca insisted.

The Chelsea boss also provided injury updates on defender Wesley Fofana, midfielder Romeo Lavia and striker Nicolas Jackson, with the trio soon to return to action.

The Blues, fifth in the standings with 46 points from 27 games, will fancy their chances of claiming a home win over 19th-placed Leicester, who have lost their last four league games.

Maresca, who left Leicester before the beginning of the season, said he sympathised with the relegation-threatened Foxes as well as their beleaguered manager Ruud van Nistelrooy – a former teammate of Maresca’s at Malaga.

“I really support Ruud. First of all because he’s a friend of mine and then because he’s there,” he added. “He’s trying to do his best. We know it’s difficult. But in this moment, I’m focused on us. I’m just thinking about how we can improve.”

Meanwhile, Tottenham Hotspur manager Ange Postecoglou said that defenders Cristian Romero and Micky van de Ven may finally return to face