Cole Palmer’s latest masterclass in Chelsea’s pulsating 4-3 win against Tottenham Hotspur was yet another reminder of how special a player he is.
Cole Palmer exhibited his ice-cold demeanour when it mattered most by converting a pair of penalties, placing the first one in the bottom corner and dinking his second spot-kick in style.
The Chelsea midfielder also danced past a series of Tottenham players before his deflected pass fell into Enzo Fernandez’s path, who dispatched his strike brilliantly with a well-taken volley.
Jamie Carragher hailed Palmer by claiming that since his move to Chelsea, no player has outperformed him in the Premier League over the past 18 months. While Joe Cole dubbed Palmer a “genius” while stating that Manchester City’s decision to sell him last year was a mistake on Pep Guardiola’s part.
The numbers back Carragher’s claim up, with Palmer reaching 50 goal contributions in the Premier League since the start of last season — a figure no other player has amassed in the same timeframe.
Even this season, the England international has 11 goals and six assists in 15 league starts to his name for Enzo Maresca and Co.
Only Mohamed Salah has more goal contributions (21, 13 goals and eight assists) in the league than the former Manchester City wonderkid.
Cole Palmer celebrates scoring his second goal for Chelsea during the Premier League match between Tottenham Hotspur FC and Chelsea FC at Tottenham...
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Enzo Maresca says Cole Palmer ‘could be’ Premier League’s best player
Ahead of Chelsea’s upcoming contest against Shamrock Rovers in the Europa Conference League, Enzo Maresca agreed that Palmer could currently be the best player in the Premier League.
Maresca replied via HaytersTV: “Yeah, could be in this moment, could be but England is quite lucky in terms of Premier League because there are so many good players. So, I think, for sure, Cole [Palmer] is one of them.”
“But it’s full of fantastic players in the Premier League.”
The youngster has been subject to a lot of praise this season.
Even Chelsea legend Gianfranco Zola praised Palmer, stating that he is becoming a “sensational player.”
Alan Shearer described Palmer as “incredible”, claiming that he “looks like he’s just playing in the park” after he scored four goals in the Blues’ 4-2 massacre of Brighton & Hove Albion in September.
Maresca admits Palmer can ‘absolutely’ become world-class
In his latest press conference, Enzo Maresca was also asked whether the Wythenshawe-born attacker can become a world-class player one day and his answer was yes.
Maresca responded: “Absolutely, he can be but as you said, he’s just 22, so he can do many things better.”
The former Leicester City boss pinpointed the areas where Palmer still has room for improvement.
“He has to learn at this level. He has to learn and is learning in this moment that everyone is marking him man-to-man, how to play against him when they mark him man-to-man but there are many things he can improve for sure.”
Considering how successful Palmer’s working relationship has been with Enzo Maresca so far, he will likely pay close attention to his manager’s feedback and work to further better his game.
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