What Liam Rosenior noticed about Cole Palmer after superb Chelsea display v Wolves
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Chelsea head coach Liam Rosenior said he noticed how happy Cole Palmer looked after a superb hat-trick display in Saturday's 3-1 win over Wolves.
Palmer grabbed his fourth Premier League hat-trick of his career, and it impressively took him just 38 minutes in the first half.
Admittedly, he had a lot of help from his Chelsea teammates, especially Joao Pedro, who won two penalties for Palmer to take, but he still had to convert those chances.
Rosenior highlighted how Palmer seems to be enjoying his football again, especially after recent eyebrow-raising speculations that he was not happy at Chelsea.
"Obviously delighted for Cole," Rosenior told BBC Match of the Day after the game.
"There's been a lot of talk around him, about how happy he is - he looked happy today with his three goals.
"Cole is definitely someone that we want on the pitch more often than not. And hopefully he can stay fit now."
Rosenior explains Palmer's load management situation
Since returning from his injury back in early December, Palmer has played two full 90-minute games out of the 13 appearances he has made across all competitions in this period.
He even only stayed on the pitch for 61 minutes against Wolves despite his first-half hat-trick.
Rosenior admitted that he is aware that not everyone would agree with his approach, but he believes this is what is best for Palmer and Chelsea's season.
"People will question my decision-making, the minutes," Rosenior told Sky Sports when asked about Palmer's limited game time.
"We've played nine games in less than a month.
"Cole's going to be a massive player for us for the rest of the season."
As Rosenior pointed out, Palmer's availability would be crucial in the later stages of the season, when the competition for Champions League spots in the Premier League is getting fiercer and Chelsea may be fighting for trophies in cup competitions.
The fact that Chelsea do not really have any like-for-like replacement for Palmer in the squad adds even more pressure on Rosenior to keep the England international fit.
Gerry Crisandy is a freelance writer who has covered Chelsea for many years. His work has been published on The Chelsea Chronicle and Pride of London. He grew up idolising Michael Ballack and is a firm believer in expected goals.