Rosenior is under pressure to deliver Champions League football. (Photo by Justin Setterfield/Getty Images)

Paul Merson has positional advice for Liam Rosenior and says Cole Palmer needs to play as a 10

Originally posted on Chelsea News | By Simon Phillips | Last updated Mar 31, 2026 1:30 AM ET

Former Arsenal star Paul Merson has been dishing out some tactical and positional advice for Chelsea boss Liam Rosenior.

Merson, who is a self confessed Chelsea fan and a very passionate one at that, believes that Cole Palmer is playing in the wrong position and needs to be playing more centrally in the 10 role again.

Rosenior at the moment, has Enzo Fernandez playing more in that position, with Palmer coming in off the right mostly.

What this does though is it keeps Estevao Willian on the bench, and it is only using one out and out winger really.

Merson thinks Estevao should be starting out on the right, and Fernandez needs to drop back alongside Moises Caicedo in a deeper role.

Merson on Chelsea

In quotes picked up on X this week, Merson said:

“They [Chelsea] have got to get back to Moises Caicedo and Enzo Fernandez, put Cole Palmer in the No.10 and then put Estevao and Pedro Neto on the wings and put Joao Pedro up front.

“Get Palmer in the middle of the pitch where he can make things happen. At the moment, he’s playing out on the right, he gets the ball and he’s never ever going to run past the full-back. He’s not the quickest in the world.”

One bright spark in the remainder of this season would be the debut of young highly rated academy starlet Ryan Kavuma-McQueen, which the BBC think is “inevitable.”

As well as Enzo Fernandez and the drama that is going on there, Marc Cucurella became the latest Chelsea player to flirt with an exit from the on the international break.

This article first appeared on Chelsea News and was syndicated with permission.

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