Cole Palmer has been left out of Chelsea's squad for the league phase of the Europa Conference League.

Palmer enjoyed a brilliant debut campaign at Stamford Bridge in 2023-24, registering more goal involvements than any other player in the Premier League (33, 22 goals, 11 assists).

However, his efforts were not enough to guide the Blues to Champions League or Europa League qualification, as they finished sixth before seeing Manchester United take England's final Europa League spot by winning the FA Cup.

Enzo Maresca's side came through a play-off tie with Servette to reach the new league phase of the Conference League, with their first match in the competition proper coming against Gent on October 3.

They will also face Panathinaikos, Noah, Heidenheim, Astana and Shamrock Rovers before the league phase concludes in December.

On Thursday, the Blues released their 23-man squad for the next stage of the competition, with Palmer the most notable player to be excluded.

Palmer has already provided four assists and scored one goal in Chelsea's first three Premier League games in 2024-25.

He is the first player to provide four or more assists at this stage of a top-flight campaign since Paul Pogba laid on five in Manchester United's first three games of 2021-22.

New signings Jadon Sancho, Joao Felix, Marc Guiu, Pedro Neto, Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall, Renato Veiga, Tosin Adarabioyo and Filip Jorgensen are included, with Wesley Fofana and Romeo Lavia joining Palmer in missing out.

Chelsea will be able to add Palmer to their squad in January should they reach the knockout stages, as they bid to become the competition's second English victors, after West Ham in 2022-23.

Full squad: Robert Sanchez, Filip Jorgensen, Lucas Bergstrom; Axel Disasi, Marc Cucurella, Tosin Adarabioyo, Benoit Badiashile, Reece James, Malo Gusto, Renato Veiga; Enzo Fernandez, Noni Madueke, Carney Chukwuemeka, Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall, Moises Caicedo, Cesare Casadei; Pedro Neto, Mykhailo Mudryk, Joao Felix, Nicolas Jackson, Christopher Nkunku, Jadon Sancho, Marc Guiu.

Why Does Maresca Leave Palmer Out?

Cole Palmer, one of the nominees for the 2024 Ballon d'Or, is not included in Enzo Maresca's list, and the only possible explanation is that Maresca wants his star player rested for the major challenge of the Premier League.

According to the BBC, the decision is related to managing the workload, as Chelsea will be competing in up to five different competitions this season.

However, not having one of your top stars for the Conference League highlights the importance that the Italian coach places on the competition.

This does not mean that Chelsea does not want to win it, but rather that they believe they can achieve success without relying on Cole Palmer.