‘Brave’ Palmer ready to be Chelsea captain – Rosenior

Liam Rosenior says Cole Palmer’s unassuming manner is no barrier to him being Chelsea captain.

Palmer was named skipper for the 7-0 thumping of Port Vale in the FA Cup quarter-finals, standing in for first-choice duo Reece James and Enzo Fernandez – the latter having been placed on the naughty step by the club after ill-advised comments hinting at a summer move.

And Chelsea’s talismanic midfielder had a steadily impressive game playing behind lone front man Joao Pedro.

“He’s ready,” head coach Rosenior said when asked about his decision to trust Palmer ahead of more senior players, including Tosin Adarabioyo and Wes Fofana.

“This is a natural step for Cole, for where he is in his career. He shows leadership. There are different types of leadership – there are players who talk and organise.

“What Cole does in the way he leads is he’s so brave. He will take the ball on the pitch and, if he makes a mistake, he will take the ball and be positive again, and that reflects what  I want in the team, and Cole led the team magnificently in the game.

“Cole’s happy. He is a player who in big moments can win you games. But if you watch the game today, with Cole and Joao Pedro, they track back and chase and make tackles. You have to do the fundamentals of the game and Cole led by example.”

Rosenior felt his side impressed all over the pitch against Vale.

“I’m very happy with the application and the intensity levels of the team – the win stemmed from that,” Rosenior added. “We have outstanding players and some of the goals we scored, and the play, was very good

“The way we chased and tackled gave us the basis to go on.

“I have a group of players who still believe, as I do, that we can have an outstanding season in terms of winning an FA Cup and qualifying for the Champions League.”