Chelsea fans have not seen the best of Cole Palmer this season, although will be concerned at how sparingly they have won games when he is in the squad.
Palmer’s start to the season was not helped by a muscle injury suffered in the build up to the second game of the campaign against West Ham, and he didn’t really play a significant role in the league until December.
His numbers on the whole have not been too bad. He has 10 goals and three assists so far this season, but his performance levels have been a shadow of his 2023/24 campaign.
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Chelsea’s win-rate is far lower with Cole Palmer starting
Palmer has been accused of looking ‘lifeless’ at times this season, and the numbers are not in his favour when it comes to how Chelsea have performed with and without him in the starting XI.
According to WhoScored, Chelsea have won just 24% of their Premier League games this season with Palmer in the starting side, scoring on average 1.29 goals a game.
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On the flip side, the Blues have been victorious in 57% of their games without the England international starting, scoring close to two goals a game.
It has to be said that the majority of games started without Palmer came during Enzo Maresca’s time in charge, when the Blues were on a far better trajectory.
Liam Rosenior had Palmer at his disposal for the majority of his poor reign in charge, and this contributed to a large percentage of their defeats this season.
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It just makes sense.
Palmer’s World Cup hopes falling away right in front of Thomas Tuchel
Palmer has decided not to undergo surgery on his muscle problem, likely because of the upcoming World Cup in North America this summer.
Thomas Tuchel was in attendance for Chelsea vs Nottingham Forest, and will have watched the Blues man being outperformed by Morgan Gibbs-White in the race for the number 10 role.
Palmer is not ending the season with any form at all, and this will be playing in the England manager’s mind ahead of picking his squad for the World Cup.
He will currently be hoping that he has enough credit in the bank to confirm his place, but at this rate he could be set for a summer at home.
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