When Cole Palmer left the pitch, he received a standing ovation and great support from the Chelsea fans at Stamford Bridge. At the time he first joined The Blues from Man City, not many people thought that with a price tag of 40 million pounds and an age of only 20, Cole Palmer would become the most important player of the team as he is now.
Now, at 22, Palmer is the brightest star in London and possibly the Premier League. After the recent defeat, Brighton captain Fabian Hurzeler admitted that since the beginning of the season, he has not faced a player as excellent as the Chelsea star.
"They have a very good player who can punish all our mistakes. Palmer is simply unstoppable in one-on-one situations. When we face him, it's like we are under the pressure of the whole Chelsea squad," Herzeler shared.
Palmer made Premier League history by becoming the first player to score a poker in the first half. Between the 19th and 41st minutes, if he had been luckier, the English striker could have scored another goal. Palmer's scoring skills are very diverse, from close-range shots, second-line shots, long-range shots, free kicks and crosses. Witnessing his student's excellence, captain Enzo Maresca was also surprised.
"I said to Palmer after half-time that he had just scored four goals. However, with more luck, he could have scored two or three more. It's good to see his hunger and ambition.
I knew Palmer a lot last year, especially during the season with Manchester City's U23 team. From that moment on, Palmer already had the qualities to shine like he does now. Besides his talent, Palmer is also a very simple and humble person. For me, this is the most important thing" - Maresca shared.
What is an excellent player, until now no one has been able to give a quantitative concept, it is all qualitative, the feeling of each individual. Rodri is excellent, the proof is that without him, Man City immediately stagnated. Erling Haaland is the same when he just scored his 10th goal after only 6 matches at the beginning of the season. Cole Palmer is the same, he has 43 G/A (goals and assists) since joining Chelsea while Haaland's number is 39. If counting from the beginning of the season, Palmer has 10 G/A, exactly the same as Haaland.
Whether Palmer is the best player in the Premier League right now is an open question, but he is certainly among the best.
While Haaland is a hurricane in attack, Palmer is more flexible and diverse. Each has his own color and is excellent. However, in terms of importance in the squad, Man City can still win without Haaland, but for Chelsea, Palmer's absence will be a huge disadvantage.
Not yet 23 years old and not yet reached the milestone of 60 Premier League matches, but Palmer's statistics are increasingly excellent. Most importantly, the prestige of this young striker is making every defense wary.
Since Eden Hazard, Chelsea have had a star shine so consistently. If Chelsea need a fulcrum to return to glory, they can start right now with the inspiration of Cole Palmer.
