Palmer starred once again for the Blues on Sunday as we came from behind to beat Tottenham in north London. He netted a brace of second-half penalties and also had a big hand in Enzo Fernandez’s goal that put us 3-2 up.

Maresca noted Palmer was still able to have a major impact despite being man marked by Yves Bissouma, and he also praised our no.20’s work ethic off the ball, which set the tone for our comeback victory.

But it is Palmer’s genius in possession that continues to grab the headlines, and our head coach is delighted with the way he handles the spotlight.

‘I know Cole from four or five years ago as I had him for one year at Manchester City with the Under-23s,’ Maresca said.

‘The best thing from him is that four, five years ago when he was with me in the Under-23s, he was one way and now after two years, 20-30 goals and everyone considers him one of the best, he is exactly the same guy.

‘Loves football, humble, no strange things. This is the best thing for Cole and for young players, because today, young players if they play one game well, they already think they are [top] and they lose the balance. He is always the same, doesn't change, and we are very happy with Cole.’

We have all seen hundreds of penalties scored and, in truth, as long as they hit the net their execution rarely lingers in the memory, even if their significance does. Palmer is different, though. Deploying a Panenka for his second spot-kick pointed to his audacity, and his technique was flawless. In the heat of battle, it was coolness personified.

‘Probably since we started [working with the team], I didn't see Cole shooting penalties [in training],’ Maresca said.

‘It’s remarkable. Cole belongs to that group that are not normal players. They are top players and they do things that normal players or us, we say, 'how can he do that?' He scored because he's top. We can expect this from Cole.’