The Blues playmaker has inspired Enzo Maresca’s side to the brink of a Premier League title challenge with, as Miguel Delaney outlines, a unique mindset helping him spread his influence
There are moments in training when Chelsea teammates literally just start laughing at something outlandish that Cole Palmer has done, which isn’t that unusual for a box-office Premier League star. What is a little more notable, though, is how that can occasionally immediately follow a bad miss.
Palmer doesn’t let any of it affect him, or temper his game. Those who know both have likened it to Luis Suarez. There’s no playing it safe to build up again. He just goes for it and tries things.
There may well end up another throwback to Suarez. Could Palmer be a rare player in the modern game to drive a title challenge almost through his own individual quality alone? That's what Suarez did in 2013-14, elevating a good Liverpool team into something spectacular. Palmer himself is looking that good.
There’s an argument that nothing close has really happened in the Premier League since Chelsea’s own last title in 2016-17, when Diego Costa’s goals so often proved the difference. Eden Hazard and N’Golo Kante might have something to say about that, of course, as would all of Mohammed Salah, Kevin De Bruyne, Erling Haaland, Rodri, Sadio Mane and even Palmer’s own manager in Enzo Maresca.
None of this is to disrespect them, though. Liverpool and Manchester City’s title teams were obviously as systemised as you could get, driven by generational managers, with their great stars perfectly complementing the teams. They were near-perfect units, which was reflected in those historic points returns.
Cole Palmer scored twice to help Chelsea win 4-3 at Tottenham
Cole Palmer scored twice to help Chelsea win 4-3 at Tottenham (PA Wire)
Maresca’s Chelsea have admirably defied expectations with an immense season so far but they’re not that. The Italian is famously a Guardiola disciple and is trying to instil a comparable system, although that is sort of the point. A young Chelsea are very much a developing side, and Maresca has had to show some pragmatism.
That has been seen with Palmer, which is one more reason he has had such an outward individual influence. Maresca’s first Premier League game saw him start the playmaker on the right, which would probably be the manager’s ideal in terms of where he thinks roles should go in his formation. It could have set alarm bells, given how that 2-0 defeat to Manchester City so obviously seemed to take Palmer out of his best position.
Maresca was nevertheless astute enough to realise there was little point being so idealistic, especially if it stifled his outstanding talent. Enzo Fernandez was moved away from the No. 10 area for the next game, and Palmer was restored to an inside-right position. He just picked up where he left off, and went to higher levels.
What is most remarkable is the sheer range, from the style of goals to the nature of the feats. Palmer can go from opportunistic strikes to curled screamers, from hat-tricks and four-goal hauls to assists that illuminate an entire game.
Cole Palmer celebrates after equalising for Chelsea
Cole Palmer celebrates after equalising for Chelsea (Getty Images)
Some of the other player comparisons, particularly to Gianfranco Zola, are all the more apt because Palmer has become one of those players you would pay to watch. He is the show, but it’s not just all for show.
There is real impact. Palmer is the player you can look to when you need something. That’s why the point about not being fazed by misses or bad moments is so relevant. It is the element that really elevates the “clutch” players. The point isn’t quite that they’re “killers” who never miss but rather their persistence. There’s never a loss of nerve.
It’s all the more impressive with Palmer this season since opposition defences know what he’s about. They’ve tried to prepare for what he can do, but he’s still proven so difficult to pin down. That was witnessed in maybe his moment of the season so far - which is some competition - in that pass against Newcastle United. It was like Lionel Messi against Belgium in the 2014 World Cup… but on the turn, and well inside his own half. Eddie Howe’s staff sought to congest that inside-right area, so Palmer just drifted back and had the same effect.
Chelsea’s Cole Palmer celebrates after scoring against Tottenham
Chelsea’s Cole Palmer celebrates after scoring against Tottenham (AFP via Getty Images)
This is where Chelsea’s stage of development might even have nicely aligned with Palmer’s. Club insiders say “there was a void to be filled” in that summer of 2023. The squad was mostly made up of young talent, with many of the best of them - like Noni Madueke and Nicolas Jackson - still just young. “They were kids,” in the words of one source. A senior figure like Raheem Sterling was meanwhile past his best. Chelsea needed someone who took responsibility.
Few expected Palmer to take so much. Joe Shields, the Co-Director of Recruitment and Talent, is generally credited as insightfully spotting what Palmer could be.
He is still surpassing even those expectations.
The manner in which Palmer has filled that “void”, and enjoyed the freedom that Maresca gives, has allowed the forward to express himself to exacting effect. It consequently gives Chelsea something most teams don’t have. In a Premier League of intensive systems, Palmer casually blurs the lines, and then offers the clarity of his own talent and vision. It is the sharpest football intelligence, that isn’t always allowed to breathe in the modern game.
Cole Palmer scored against Aston Villa
Cole Palmer scored against Aston Villa (PA Wire)
There might be another promising alignment there. Maresca has insisted Chelsea aren’t yet title challengers, and that isn’t mere modesty. It’s pretty obvious, from the standards of the Premier League’s last few seasons. But this might not be one of those normal seasons. The expansion of European competition, with clubs such as Arsenal potentially playing 11 games in 35 days from the start of the year, could yet have unexpected consequences on the campaign. The top teams are going to be hit, in the same way that has already happened to some. That has aided Chelsea's rise, and now they have a series of more forgiving fixtures leading into the busy Christmas period. Take this weekend. Brentford have proven a challenge for a lot of teams this season, but all at home. Chelsea get them at Stamford Bridge.
Palmer meanwhile hasn’t played in the Europa Conference since the August qualifiers after being omitted from the squad for the group stage. He’s been left fresh, enjoying midweeks off, so he is free to produce his best every weekend.
It is another rarity in the modern game for a player of his talent. That may end up only amplifying his influence on this season.
Chelsea’s Cole Palmer with Jadon Sancho during training in Cobham
Chelsea’s Cole Palmer with Jadon Sancho during training in Cobham (Action Images via Reuters)