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“I’ve said to the physios” – Cole Palmer shares major fitness update
Cole Palmer has revealed he’s feeling the best he’s felt in “four of five months” following Chelsea’s win against Aston Villa.
The Blues ran out emphatic 4-1 winners at Villa Park, to move above Liverpool and back into fifth place as the race for Champions League football continues.
Chelsea responded brilliantly to going a goal down in the opening minutes with Joao Pedro scoring a hat-trick, and Palmer also getting on the scoresheet.
Cole Palmer shares fitness update
Palmer has struggled with a groin injury this season, which caused him to miss virtually the entire first half of the campaign.
Since returning in December he’s had some good moments, but things haven’t appeared quite right, and he didn’t have a good performance against Arsenal.
Palmer was back on the scoresheet against Villa. (Photo by Dan Istitene/Getty Images)
However, speaking before the big win, Palmer provided a fitness update, and revealed this is the best he’s felt in months.
“I still feel a bit away from being [the best Cole Palmer],” he said as quoted on X.com.
“I’ve said to the physios this week that this is the best I have felt in four or five months.
“I can do everything on the pitch now so it is just about finding my rhythm.”
Palmer has previously stated he’s yet to play a game fully fit this season, but put in an encouraging performance at Villa Park.
The England international now has five goals and an assist in his last league five games, and Chelsea will be hoping that form continues.
Joao Pedro delivers once again
Whilst Palmer is continuing to work on getting back to his best, Pedro has continued to go from strength to strength under Liam Rosenior.
The 24-year-old has now scored 14 league goals this season, and has eight in his last eight Premier League matches.
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“I’ve said to the physios” – Cole Palmer shares major fitness update
Pedro will likely be on the bench against Wrexham in the FA Cup on Saturday, but the Blues will need him at his brilliant best against PSG next week.
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Midfield priority rules out move to Real Madrid – ‘It would be foolish’
Real Madrid will look to address the engine room of their side this summer, making a move to improve their midfield two seasons after the arrival of Jude Bellingham, and more crucially, after the exits of Toni Kroos and Luka Modric. Los Blancos have struggled to adapt without their long-time controllers in the middle of the pitch, but it seems that the insistence on Eduardo Camavinga and Fede Valverde as partners for Aurelien Tchouameni has ended.
Reportedly, Xabi Alonso had requested an addition in the middle of the pitch last summer, as had Carlo Ancelotti the year before. Real Madrid were confident they could make it work with their current options, but after watching three managers, including Alvaro Arbeloa, unable to find the solution, it seems they will act this summer.
Vitinha rules out Real Madrid move
The dream signing in the position as it has been termed, is Paris Saint-Germain star Vitinha. Although there was an acknowledgement that any deal would be complicated, the Portugal international remained top of their shortlist. However he has now ruled out a move to the Spanish capital.
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“It would be foolish to leave. I don’t think it would be the best thing for me. I feel great here at PSG! I feel like people really appreciate me, and I’ve earned that affection. I love being here; my family does too. The group is fantastic, and the coach is incredible,” he told Canal 11, as quoted by Diario AS.
Real Madrid’s alternatives for midfield
That would appear to rule out any pursuit of Vitinha, as the first step would have been him pushing for a move. Other names mentioned are Kees Smit, whose price tag is a concern at the Bernabeu, or Adam Wharton, for whom interest appears to have faded. The economic alternative is Chema Andres, who left Castilla last summer, but has impressed at Stuttgart in the Bundesliga.
‘Happy with what we did’ – Slot defends summer transfer business amid Liverpool squad concerns
Arne Slot has insisted that he’s ‘happy’ with the transfer business that Liverpool completed last summer and that it was impossible to predict the extent of the injury problems which have affected his squad this season.
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Despite an outlay of almost £450m on new players in 2025, the Reds find themselves sixth in the Premier League table with only nine matches remaining to salvage Champions League qualification, falling woefully short of expectations at the outset of the campaign.
Between a spate of long-term injuries and some simultaneous absences in certain positions, the LFC head coach has felt compelled to deploy players in unfamiliar roles to try and plug the gaps, and it’s evident that a few core names have been badly missed in recent weeks and months.
Slot ‘happy’ with Liverpool’s summer transfer business
In his pre-match press conference ahead of Liverpool’s FA Cup clash against Wolves, Slot was asked if he has any regrets over not ensuring that he’d had a deeper squad by the end of last summer’s transfer window.
The 47-year-old insisted (via Liverpool Echo): “I’m happy with what we did last summer. We signed so many great players but you can’t predict that so many would be injured. Adaptation you can predict.
“It’s the model we are having that we don’t have 25 players over here. It hurts even more if you have three or four long-term injuries. I knew when I came in this was the model and I’m happy with that.”
Bad luck has played a part, but lessons to be learned for Liverpool
Nobody could accuse Liverpool of not being ambitious in the transfer market last summer, and as Slot says, no-one could’ve legislated for the extent to which the Reds have been hampered by injuries this season.
Don Hutchison made the point that the Dutchman had vastly superior strength in depth last term compared to now, highlighting how the exits of several big-name players have contributed to the shortage of options in reserve during the current campaign.
Injury issues are an inevitability in football, especially in an era where such intense demands are placed on those at the highest level, but LFC have been unlucky to lose Giovanni Leoni, Conor Bradley, Wataru Endo and Alexander Isak to long-term setbacks.
That’s not to mention the likes of Jeremie Frimpong, Alisson Becker, Joe Gomez and Florian Wirtz being sidelined at times throughout the season, although Slot hinted that the German could make a brief substitute outing at Molineux tomorrow night.
Liverpool would undoubtedly be a different beast if they had a fully-fit squad, although the travails of this campaign must be taken into account in the composition of transfer policy for the upcoming summer so that we don’t find ourselves in the same unwelcome scenario in 2026/27.
Hermoso skips Genoa match as injury persists
Bad news for Roma on the injury front. Hermoso has thrown in the towel and will be unavailable for the away match against Genoa.
According to Il Tempo, the Spanish defender had hoped to return to the squad this week, but the pain in his iliopsoas hasn’t completely disappeared.
Even in the last session, Hermoso performed individualized work, a sign that his recovery isn’t yet complete.
The Giallorossi medical staff has therefore decided not to take any risks, postponing his return until next week, when the defender will be able to attempt to return to training with the rest of the team.