When Cole Palmer made the bold decision to leave his hometown club in search of more first-team minutes, eyebrows were raised. Especially when he decided to join Chelsea, who had already spent €300 million on bringing in a wealth of attacking talent over the past two seasons.
Arriving on the final day of the transfer window and missing pre-season with your new team is far from an ideal situation. But the Englishman was eased into the team by Chelsea manager Mauricio Pochettino, and has now become the most consistent and influential part of the Blues’ attack.
His progress since leaving Manchester City has surprised many, but Pochettino has an excellent track record of trusting and developing young English talent, and he has offered Palmer more league starts and minutes than he got in all his years at the Etihad combined.
Palmer has repaid his managers faith with eight goals and five assists, putting him sixth in the list of under-21 players with the most goals and assists in all competitions this season, behind the likes of Jude Bellingham and Florian Wirtz.
Cole Palmer Transfer Value - how much is he worth?
According to our Player Valuation Model, Palmer has a current Estimated Transfer Value (eTV) of €32.7 million. His value has risen sharply from just €4.6 million at the time of his move from City in September of this year.
Young homegrown players with Palmer’s skillset are rare, and our model has picked up on that - alongside his excellent performances and growing minutes on the pitch. All signs point to this continuing in the new year, and will likely see his eTV eclipse the €47 million paid by Chelsea.
How Cole Palmer is developing this season
Palmer’s broad skillset and technical qualities make him a very versatile player. This enabled him to play on the wing against Fulham, Burnley and Tottenham, as a number 10 against Brentford and as a centre-forward against Arsenal.
But apart from providing tactical flexibility from one match to another, Palmer allows Pochettino to alternate between shapes and approaches - often during the same game.
When asked about Palmer’s best position, the Argentine said: "For me he’s a playmaker, a player who can link the team. He’s also a player with the capacity to score goals and give assists.”
This season Palmer has played most of his minutes on the right wing, where he typically behaves like a wide playmaker. This role sees him often drift inside to position himself in the half spaces, where he can create chances through the centre.
The 21-year-old offers much more than just scoring goals and providing assists. His relentless off-ball runs into space provide his team-mates with passing options, or simply disrupt the opposition shape to give them more space.
Palmer does this with his elite positioning, understanding where the space is on the pitch and how to move into it at the right time.
On the ball, he is just as impressive - making 53.3 passes P90 at a passing accuracy of 82%, excellent for an attacking player who attempts riskier passes.
The Manchester City academy graduate offers a good variation with his passing, and is also able to progress the play with 4.90 passes into the final third and 2.86 passes into penalty area P90.
Palmer also looks comfortable receiving the ball in the middle of the pitch with his back to goal, making him a versatile ‘link’ player.
All of these attributes came together for his goal against Sheffield United last weekend. Palmer receives the ball in a pocket of space in the centre of the pitch. He drives towards the penalty area and finds Raheem Sterling out wide with a smart pass. He then anticipates an opportunity and ghosts into the box to get on the end of Sterling’s cross.
The two-cap England International is also willing to work hard for his team, and presses from the front to make a solid 0.83 interceptions and 0.46 attacking third tackles P90.
There were reports that Palmer’s signing was a knee-jerk reaction to Christopher Nkunku pre-season injury. But with Nkunku back from injury, fans are now looking forward to seeing him combine with the Frenchman to become a consistent attacking force in the Premier League.
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