Chelsea’s Cole Palmer only enhanced his growing reputation with another top performance this week.
Cole Palmer, who’s still only 21, grabbed a goal and an assist in Monday evening’s 3-2 victory at home to Newcastle United in the Premier League.
The versatile attacking midfielder is showing no signs of slowing up during this stellar debut season for the Blues.
He’s now up to 13 goals and 11 assists in 33 Chelsea appearances so far.
Palmer is now the first player in the Premier League this season to score and assist in five separate games.
ESPN pundit Mario Melchiot was left super impressed by what he saw from Chelsea’s Palmer this week versus Newcastle.
In particular, the former Blues defender mentioned how good the 21-year-old playmaker is when he’s got the ball at his feet.
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“He comes into a team that is not that confident… The way he is playing… He has no fear. He doesn’t think about anything. He picks the ball up anywhere he wants,” Melchiot told ESPN.
“If he wants to dribble, he dribbles. If he wants to do something else, people believe in his ability. I think that is one of the key things for him.
“…Where he picks up the ball he’s dangerous.”
Dangerous Cole Palmer
Yes, Palmer does look like he plays with a real freedom on the pitch. It’s his high footballing IQ that allows Pochettino to put such trust in him, though.
The England international is so difficult for opponents to pick up with the pockets of space he drifts into. For example, his goal against Newcastle came after ghosting into space on the edge of the box, where he eventually took his shot from.
Speaking via BBC Sport this week, Garth Crooks claimed that Palmer has been a “revelation” in Chelsea’s line-up this campaign.
At the age of 21, we’re quietly optimistic that there’s still so much to come from him in the future as he gains even more experience and know-how.
