Cole Palmer leaves ex-Chelsea star feeling red-faced with 'unexpected' development

Ex- player and manager Glenn Hoddle admits he was left surprised by Cole Palmer's actions over the weekend.

Palmer already boasts a whopping 11 goal and assist contributions for the season, having taken to life under Enzo Maresca.

His latest came during Chelsea's weekend draw against Nottingham Forest, when the Englishman assisted team-mate Noni Madueke for the Blues' leveller.

His exploits in the thumping 4-2 win over Brighton & Hove Albion the weekend prior dominated all the headlines, given the ex-Manchester City star scored all four of Chelsea's goals.

It comes on the back of a stellar debut campaign at Chelsea last term, with Palmer having averaged a goal or an assist for each of his 33 Premier League outings.

However, Hoddle, who spent two years as a player at Stamford Bridge before returning for a three-year managerial stint revealed Palmer's reaction to a mid-game scuffle between Maresca's men and the Forest players shocked him.

Speaking on a Premier League Productions broadcast on Monday, Hoddle said: "Yeah, he is [such a cool customer]. It's the way he plays.

"I love that. I saw that afterwards, I didn't see it at the time, but it's brilliant. Absolutely brilliant. Just chilled."

Unlike the rest of his team-mates who were involved in the altercation, which was sparked when Forest defender Neco Williams shoved Marc Cucurella in the direction of Maresca, Palmer opted to stay out of things.

Instead, footage that surfaced after the incident showed Palmer taking a breather while sitting on the floor and stretching out his legs.

A sign Palmer is more willing to do his talking with a football at his feet.

It's probably just as well Palmer didn't get involved, given two Chelsea stars picked up suspensions from the Forest fiasco.

Cucurella and Wesley Fofana will both sit out this month's trip to Anfield to take on Liverpool after they were both handed their fifth yellow card of the season on Sunday afternoon.

Despite the selection headache it's caused, Maresca did admit he enjoyed seeing the Chelsea players show a bit of passion during the clash.

Commenting on his squad's mentality, the Italian told Chelsea's : "Probably there are things we can improve but overall I like the team and the way they are fighting. I like the team, the way they are becoming a team in these kinds of things and I don't see any problems with that.

"If you ask me about the team spirit, the way they are fighting together and the way they are doing things together, I am very happy with that."