According to Metro, Malo Gusto is adamant that he would prefer to have the "special" Cole Palmer at Chelsea rather than the prolific Manchester City striker Erling Haaland.
Palmer, who joined Chelsea from Manchester City last summer, scored four goals in their recent match, including one from the penalty spot in the second half, bringing his tally to 20 league goals and placing him level with Haaland in the Golden Boot race.
While Palmer was highly regarded at Manchester City, his impressive form at Stamford Bridge has exceeded expectations.
Gusto expressed his delight at having Palmer as a teammate and emphasized that he wouldn't trade the England international for Haaland, despite Haaland's remarkable record of 83 goals in 91 games since joining Manchester City in 2022.
When asked if he would choose to play with Palmer or Haaland, Gusto replied: "Cole, for sure. We just have to help Palmer become the top scorer.
He is special, and we are very happy to have this type of player on our team."
Palmer's first-half hat-trick against an opponent was the quickest by a Chelsea player in the Premier League and marked him as the club's top goalscorer in a single campaign since Diego Costa.
Conor Coady, a defender for Leicester City, acknowledged Palmer as Chelsea's standout performer this season, particularly given the team's overall struggles in the Premier League.
Despite Chelsea's recent improvement, they still sit ninth in the table, trailing 16 points behind the top four and 36 points behind leaders Manchester City.
Coady praised Palmer's impact, stating on BBC Radio 5 Live, "He is keeping Chelsea going a little bit this season. He has been a bright spark for Chelsea.
What he is doing is fantastic.
Everybody asked the question at the start of the season about whether he should be leaving Manchester City.
He has shown everybody why he left City and why he is becoming the main man at Chelsea."