Chelsea head coach Mauricio Pochettino has revealed how he wants Cole Palmer to improve if he is to remain a success at Stamford Bridge.
Some eyebrows were raised when the Blues committed to paying Manchester City a fee of £42.5m to secure the signature of the then-England Under-21 star in the summer.
However, Palmer has since produced an outstanding return in his first campaign with the West Londoners, contributing 23 goals and 13 assists from 38 appearances in all competitions.
As well as being joint-top goalscorer in the Premier League, the 21-year-old is in the conversation for numerous individual awards.
Palmer's latest performance saw him net four goals during the 6-0 demolition of Everton on Monday night, with one of his strikes being a goal-of-the-season contender and another a lofted effort over Jordan Pickford from 40 yards out.
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Pochettino reveals ways Palmer 'must adapt'
While Pochettino acknowledges that the praise that Palmer is currently receiving is deserved, the Argentine has been quizzed on whether the England international can get better.
Speaking at a pre-match press conference ahead of Saturday's FA Cup semi-final against Manchester City, Pochettino has revealed where he thinks Palmer must adapt to remain a success.
He told reporters: "First of all it's to absorb the lots of pressure to play in the Premier League consistently. Then, we were talking with Jesus [Perez], the coaching staff, that it's about the demands in his private life, the demands are so high.
"He maybe needs to pay attention to different things that before he didn't pay attention. That is going to have an influence on how he prepares himself, how he is going to rest, how he is going to sleep, how he is going to spend his energy that sometimes before he didn't spend.
"That is why we need to be careful. We have experience, of course, to manage this kind of thing when a young kid becomes a bigger star. His life changes. It is different with a senior player. He needs to learn from the experience now to deal with it."
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'Palmer does not have point to prove'
Earlier in the media briefing, Pochettino insisted that Palmer does not have added motivation to get one over his former club, saying that he always speaks highly of City and manager Pep Guardiola.
He added: "He has already played twice in the Premier League. He is very grateful for Manchester City, for Pep Guardiola – he always speaks very highly about Manchester City and Pep.
"He's not this type of player to have something inside. He understood perfectly that maybe for different reasons he wanted to prove himself in a different club.
"I think today we say thank you also to Manchester City for giving the possibility to move to another club. I go back and say he is not this type of person who wants to prove something against his former club. He is very grateful about Pep and Manchester City."
Chelsea revealed on Friday that they had received a triple injury boost ahead of the Wembley showdown, something which could impact on where Palmer is used against the 2023 winners.
Darren Plant
