GIANFRANCO ZOLA has revealed how Cole Palmer has promised to take him for dinner when he scores his next free-kick.
Palmer, 22, wasn’t too sure of who the Chelsea legend was when asked about him last month.
Instead, what he did know was Zola, 58, was an Icon card on the popular video game series EA Sports FC, previously known as Fifa.
By that reckoning, Palmer insisted: “I know he’s an icon on Fifa so he must have been good.
“I didn’t really watch him play but everyone says he was a great player.”
However, the pair have now had the chance to meet up and get properly acquainted with one another.
Playing a quickfire game of “Who has the better?” for a video shared to social media, Zola and Palmer took turns pointing at one another when they believed the other person was the answer to the question.
The first question asked who has the better first touch, to which Zola pointed at Palmer.
Palmer was surprised when Zola again pointed at him after being asked who has better skills.
The third question saw them asked who has the better card on EAFC, to which Palmer promptly pointed at Zola, explaining how the Italian had an 87-rated Icon card while he had an 85-rated player card.
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The pair were then asked, who is the best free-kick taker, Palmer quickly pointed to Zola before insisting his was just luck.
In response, Zola said: “No, there is no luck, its ability.
Zola then revealed a promise the England international had made to him.
He continued: “But he needs to practice more.
“He promised me he’s going to. He told me he’s going to take me for dinner if he scores after practicing.”
The comment prompted a laugh from Palmer, who then nodded to Zola.
Finally, they were asked who had the best celebration, with Zola pointing to Palmer before doing his “chilly” celebration.
Zola played 312 games for Chelsea between 1996 and 2003, scoring 80 goals.
By contrast, Palmer only joined the Blues in 2023 but has already scored 32 goals in 58 games.
However, Zola has previously said he believes Palmer, who placed 25th on this year’s Ballon d’Or list, has the potential to compete for the full trophy.
He said: “He needs to work a lot on his game, of course, because he is still young and there are things that can make him better.
“And if he does that, he can be in contention for the Ballon d’Or because the numbers and the skills are there.
“There is still work to do but potentially he can do that.
“He has a very, very good coach to work with in Maresca and I am sure he will make sure he works on that.”
Palmer pulled out of Lee Carsley‘s final England squad due to injury concerns that had also seen him be doubtful for the Arsenal draw before the international break.
Enzo Maresca said Palmer and team-mate Levi Colwill would be assessed before determining for certain whether they would be available to play Leicester this weekend.
He said: “Some of them are better, some of them are still doubts and also we need to wait because today is the first session that we do with all the players who were with their national team.”
