Mauricio Pochettino admits even he has been surprised by the impact Cole Palmer has made at Chelsea since signing from Manchester City in the summer.
Palmer will come up against his former club on Saturday when the two sides meet in the FA Cup semi-final.
The 20-year-old is the joint top-scorer in the Premier League along with former team-mate Erling Haaland this season after netting four goals in Chelsea’s 6-0 demolition of Everton last time out.
And Pochettino admits he did not expect the 21-year-old to perform at the level he has done so soon into his Chelsea career.
“We never judge a player when we sign the player,” Pochettino said.
“Always we sign a player believing they can perform. It’s true that he’s performing in a very good way, maybe above expectation.
“I think in his first consistent season playing, we still need to be careful. He’s still young, he’s growing, he needs to evolve and develop in different areas.
“But of course, I think he’s over expectation. He’s far away from what we expected in the beginning, I need to be honest.”
Palmer has now scored 25 goals in 41 games in all competitions this season, as well as recording 13 assists.
But Pochettino has urged caution with the youngster.
“The man has higher demands in his private life now he is a top scorer,” the Chelsea boss explained.
“He maybe needs to pay attention to different things that he didn’t before.
“That is going to have an influence, how he’s going to prepare himself. How he’s going to rest, how he’s going to sleep, how he’s going to spend the energy.
“We have the experience to manage this type of thing, when a young kid becomes a big star, if in a few months or few weeks he’s not performing.
“His life has changed.”
