MAURICIO POCHETTINO NAMES POTENTIAL OPTIONS TO REPLACE DOUBTFUL CHELSEA PENALTY TAKER COLE PALMER

Mauricio Pochettino insists he has “plenty of good takers” should Cole Palmer prove unable to take a penalty for Chelsea against Arsenal.  

The 21-year-old forward is a doubt to face the Gunners after missing Monday’s training session through illness. 

Palmer is joint-top of the Premier League scoring charts with 20 goals, level with Manchester City’s Erling Haaland and has bagged all nine of his spot-kicks in all competitions. 

But after a penalty row between Noni Madueke and Nicolas Jackson against Everton, Pochettino must decide his next taker before kick-off at the Emirates. 

He told reporters: “I will decide when I pick the starting XI, but we have players who can shoot, like Noni Madueke, Gallagher, Fernandez, or even Jackson.

“I still have not decided who it is going to be. It will depend. Of course, there is Mudryk. 

“We have plenty of good takers in the squad. When I decide the starting XI tomorrow I will decide who takes.”

Madueke, Fernandez, Gallagher and Mudryk have all scored penalties for Chelsea, either in matches or in shootouts, but Raheem Sterling missed his spot-kick against Leicester City last month. 

Pochettino was also asked whether bringing Roma loanee Romelu Lukaku is an option, given that the Blues have limited funds to spend this summer amid Premier League Profit and Sustainability pressure. 

He continued: “There is no point talking because he wanted to leave in the summer. He is a player who didn’t want to stay. 

“When I arrived, the club told me Romelu Lukaku wanted to leave the club. That’s it. Now we are talking about a player who is not here. 

“There is no point talking about someone who didn’t want to stay here and isn’t here. If something happens, then we will communicate, but for now, we haven’t talked about anything.”

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2024-04-23T09:09:40Z dg43tfdfdgfd