Manchester City don’t often make mistakes in the transfer market but allowing Cole Palmer to join Chelsea is beginning to look like one.
The versatile forward has been a revelation for the Blues following his £40 million move to Stamford Bridge. Few saw this coming.
Reports at the time revealed Chelsea had a blockbuster move lined up to finish the transfer window with Dusan Vlahovic and Darwin Nunez both mentioned by the media.
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Eyebrows were raised when a deal for Palmer was struck.
Chelsea weren’t exactly deprived of depth in wide areas and the fee seemed excessive for a player with fewer than 20 Premier League appearances to his name. Palmer didn’t feel like the huge coup that was initially hinted at by the media.
Yet as we head into the last weeks of the season, the 21-year-old has broken into the England team, he’s comfortably the player of the season for the Blues and there’s even an argument to be made that he’s the signing of the season across the Premier League.
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Mauricio Pochettino’s side aren’t exactly having a memorable campaign, they sit in 11th position following a 2-2 draw with Burnley, but imagine where they would find themselves had they not had Palmer at their disposal this season.
The No20 scored twice against the Clarets on Saturday to take his tally to 13 in the Premier League this term. He’s responsible for 27% of the goals scored by the Blues and this jumps to 43% if you include assists. The left-footed attacker has been directly involved in almost half of the goals scored by the 2020/21 European champions.
Not only has he been scoring goals, but he’s also been scoring big goals. He’s found the back of the net against Arsenal, Spurs and Manchester City.
Palmer has a goal involvement in his last four outings. This impressive run of form includes four goals and three assists. This return coincides with the Blues claiming five points from three games in the Premier League as well as reaching the FA Cup semi-final.
The Chelsea star is keeping pace with some of the best in the English top-flight this term. In fact, only seven players have more goals than Palmer in the Premier League. This exclusive list is made up of Alexander Isak (15), Jarrod Bowen (15), Heung-Min Son (15), Mohamed Salah (16), Ollie Wakins (16), Dominic Solanke (16) and Erling Haaland (18). Furthermore, only five players have more assists this term. Pedro Neto (nine), Mohamed Salah (nine), Watkins (10), Kieran Trippier (10), Pascal Gross (10) are the only ones who can boast a better return than Palmer’s eight.
The two-cap England international is putting up these numbers all while turning out for a dysfunctional Chelsea team. To say his performances are nothing short of remarkable is an understatement. Despite the praise going his way, he is still vastly underrated by the masses when you consider he’s effectively single-handedly carrying the attack for the Blues while Pochettino tries to bed in a number of players while putting his stamp on things at Stamford Bridge.
Other summer signings have caught the eye in impressive teams. Who else has done it while playing for a struggling side like Palmer?
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