Cole Palmer is the spark that a dim Chelsea needs
Many have rightly argued over Chelsea’s extravagant spending during the last two years. The West London team has overspent in the transfer market, which has led to heightened criticism from some when on-field results did not match off-field goals.
We can debate endlessly whether or not they misused their vast financial resources, but Cole Palmer is one acquisition that has proven successful right away and put an end to a lot of the doubters.
Unexpectedly, the Blues moved quickly to target the young English forward when the Michael Olise deal fell through. Given that the Manchester-born attacker had just played 500 minutes of Premier League football for City, many were dubious about the transfer. When considering the relatively significant expenditure of £40 million that Chelsea made to acquire him, the skeptics had valid reasons.
To the surprise of Chelsea supporters, though, Palmer hasn’t exactly stepped on the wrong foot since donning the royal blue of West London.
Bundles of creativity
For years, the Blues have been lacking a key creative player. Chelsea supporters thought Mason Mount and Kai Havertz would become a team, but that never transpired.
But it appears that their sporting directors have at last heard their prayers. In the first few months of his Chelsea career, Cole Palmer has demonstrated his ability to generate opportunities, which has been essential to Mauricio Pochettino’s team’s recent success.
After reviewing the data, Cole Palmer leads Chelsea in the number of shot-creating actions (offensive plays that result in a shot) per ninety minutes of Premier League play. Furthermore, Palmer leads the group in creating opportunities through passes in open play when the stats are filtered to show how players contribute to their shot-creation output.
His inventiveness in the closing third has benefited Chelsea’s offensive, and during his brief stay in West London, he has produced a number of magical moments.
Brentford presented Chelsea with a resolute low defensive wall that was difficult to breach. In the first half, though, Palmer was crucial in helping the Blues break the deadlock despite having numerous opportunities to penetrate Thomas Frank’s structure.
As Palmer passes the ball to Disasi in the screengrab below, he calls for Cucurella and Sterling, the players on the left wing, to make steady runs behind Brentford’s defense.
He quickly receives a return pass from the central defender and dinks an accurate ball to the feet of the Spanish left-back, who fails to convert.
In the third round of the EFL Cup, Palmer’s pass between the Brighton defender’s legs was the deciding assist of the match-winning goal.
Palmer has also demonstrated composure in deep build-up phases while upholding his creativity.
Against Fulham, the Englishman finds himself in a precarious spot when receiving a pass with his back to the opposition’s goal and Antonee Robinson just a few inches away.
Seconds later, three Fulham players encircle Palmer, but he finds the right pass to Fernandez, which unseals the opposition’s press and leads to a chance.
Against Aston Villa, Palmer pinged a superb through pass behind Unai Emery’s high defensive line for Chilwell – resulting in a shot on target for Chelsea.
In the thrilling London Derby, Palmer’s piercing pass for Nicolas Jackson produced the fourth goal that clinched the much-needed win for the visitors.
Defensive cognizance
While Cole Palmer is a traditional creative player who loves to roam around and find little gaps to create magic while the team is in possession, he also satisfies the contemporary off-ball requirements that managers view as essential.
Throughout Palmer’s brief time at Chelsea, he has stolen the ball from the opposition on multiple occasions, which has led to strong counterattacks, such as those against Brighton and Arsenal.
The Chelsea No.20’s defensive awareness has also generated goals. Against Fulham and Blackburn Rovers, Palmer assisted the goalscorers after swiping possession from the opposition and laying it off to teammates to finish.
The missing end product
Cole Palmer, who is only twenty-one years old, still has a ways to go before he can reach the thrilling potential Chelsea supporters have seen in him. He does, however, have a serious flaw in his ability to consistently produce the ball in front of the goal.
Palmer has scored four goals this season in the Premier League, all of which have come from penalty kicks. However, his clumsy finishing from open play has been a cause for concern.
The two that immediately spring to mind are the pivotal moments when he was presented with opportunities to score against Brentford and Arsenal but was unable to do so.
It does not mean Palmer cannot deliver astonishing finishes, but bringing consistency will take time.
He has already shown the quality of his left foot earlier this season when he produced a sublime finish for Manchester City in the FA Community Shield final.
With a veteran winger in the club who once had similar troubles, Raheem Sterling, and an experienced coach in Mauricio Pochettino, Palmer need not worry about a lack of guidance at his new club.
Nevertheless, hours will need to be invested on the training ground to sharpen his tools. But so far, Palmer has shown that he is committed to improving.
Chelsea had to make up for the creative gap left by the departure of two attacking midfielders last summer: Mason Mount and Kai Havertz. It was subsequent to the sporting directors’ determination that the two were not likely to be the imaginative players the team had anticipated. They decided to split up and hunt for fresh blood as a result.
Even though Cole Palmer was their second pick after Michael Olise, they obviously appreciate the result.
Palmer’s stunning performances for the Blues have swiftly made him a cult figure and fan favorite. He feels like one of their own already.
Although it’s too soon to tell if Palmer’s current wave of success will last, Chelsea supporters are certain they’ve discovered a real treasure that others have dismissed as fake.