Enzo Maresca says Chelsea do not need Champions League football to convince Cole Palmer of his future at the club - but admits missing out on the top four could impact their summer transfer business.
Chelsea were cautious with Palmer’s workload during the first half of the season, leaving him out of their Conference League group stage squad, but the Englishman has started every league game this term and completed 90 minutes in all but one of his side’s last dozen matches.
Palmer has cut an increasingly frustrated figure during that run of poor results and earlier this month former Liverpool defender Jamie Carragher questioned whether Chelsea could keep their star man happy without qualifying for the Champions League.
“For sure if we finish top four and we can play in the Champions League next season we can convince players to come here,” Maresca said.
Maresca, however, insists that while returning to the top tier of European competition would boost Chelsea’s appeal to summer targets, those in his current squad are already on board with his project.
