The Chelsea attacker has contributed more goals than any other player this Premier League season. Yet, Cole Palmer’s not the frontrunner for the Player of the Season. Here’s why he should be.
At the beginning of the 2023-24 Premier League season Chelsea, prolific spenders under Todd Boehly, splashed more cash than anyone else. A wave of experienced veterans departed the club, meaning new arrivals were inevitable. Yet their approach felt extremely scattergun.
Not a single footballer older than 25 was signed. Many are yet to impress beyond a reasonable doubt, while some, namely Christopher Nkunku and Romeo Lavia, have barely taken the field at all this season. But, one piece of business sticks out as the club’s best in years; Cole Palmer’s £40 million arrival from Manchester City.
Palmer was long perceived to be a promising footballer at Manchester City whose progression into the first team was barricaded by the presence of a pool of world class attacking midfield and winger talents in Pep Guardiola’s arsenal; Kevin De Bruyne, Phil Foden and Bernardo Silva, to name a few.
He left City in search of regular first team football. Yet questions were raised about his signing, especially at his price tag. Did a side with Raheem Sterling, Noni Madueke, Mykhailo Mudryk, Conor Gallagher and Christopher Nkunku really need a 19-game unproven Premier League attacker?
As it turns out, Chelsea needed Cole Palmer more than he needed them. At the time of writing, the Englishman has been involved in 29 goals this Premier League season, including four in a single match against Everton. No Chelsea player comes closer to these numbers. The club’s next best goal contributor, Nicolas Jackson, has 14 this season, half as many as Palmer.
However, for some reason, Palmer’s name is only halfheartedly mentioned in Premier League Player of the Season discussions. Ahead of him sit the likes of Phil Foden, Ollie Watkins and Erling Haaland. Here’s why Palmer shouldn’t just be in the conversation, he should be the favourite.
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Why Cole Palmer is the Premier League’s Player of the Season
Historically speaking, the Premier League Player of the Season is usually awarded to a crucial element of a title-winning side. In 2022-23, the award rightly went to a record-breaking Erling Haaland, Kevin De Bruyne won it in 2021-22, as did Jamie Vardy when Leicester City achieved their impossible Premier League title.
Cole Palmer’s Chelsea are nowhere near title winners. For large parts of the 2023-24 Premier League season, they’ve been a mid-table side floating closer to the relegation zone than European places. In recent weeks, the tide has shifted and Chelsea is within touching distance of Newcastle and on the fringes of a European berth next season.
A run of eight Premier League games without defeat is Chelsea’s best period under Mauricio Pochettino. It’s no coincidence this run has coincided with Palmer’s best spell of the season. His last eight games have yielded 10 goals and five assists, half of his season tallies for both statistics.
There is no Premier League footballer whose importance to their side is most glaring. Remove Erling Haaland from City and Julian Alvarez steps up, without Phil Foden, there is an array of attacking midfield talent to fill the void.
Bukayo Saka is incredibly important for Arsenal, yet they have the cattle to accommodate on his off days. The same can be said for Declan Rice, whose importance in Mikel Arteta’s midfield is undeniable and his absence would be devastating but their squad possesses adequate replacements in Thomas Party and Jorginho.
Arguably Aston Villa’s Ollie Watkins’ importance is comparable to Palmer’s, yet one suspects Villa wouldn’t be flirting with the relegation zone without their star striker in the same way Chelsea would be without Palmer.
You see, the key is these players, all of whom have watertight cases to be the 2023-24 Premier League Player of the Season, are surrounded by well-functioning, well-coached and experienced sides capable of compensating for key absences or weaknesses.
Chelsea is none of those things. They aren’t well-functioning or experienced, and the jury is still out on whether they’re well-coached. Palmer is the sole composed element within Pochettino’s cauldron of chaos.
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Whenever Chelsea needs a goal, he’s there. Whenever they need the right ball to be made, he’s there. Whenever there is a penalty to be slotted home, he’s there. Whenever their defenders or midfielders need a reliable avenue out of pressure, they look to him.
Everything good at Chelsea, which has been minimal this season, flows through him. He is Pochettino’s North Star, guiding his side to victories and improbable draws. According to Transfermarkt, Palmer has scored six matchwinners this season, a tally matched only by Haaland.
Unlike Haaland, who’s the tip of a City side littered with matchwinners, no Chelsea player looks capable of stepping up and providing the goals and magic in the biggest moments as Palmer has. With that in mind, a safe assumption would be that had Palmer remained at City Chelsea would be 18 points worse off.
At the time of writing Chelsea has played 31 league matches this season, amassing a mediocre total of 47 points. Without Palmer’s 18 points, they would be 15th in the league with 29 points, four points above the relegation zone and without his 20 goals their attack would be the fifth worst in the league.
It’s not just been the volume of Palmer’s goals that make him great either. At 20 so far this season he’s scored more in a single campaign than any Chelsea player since Diego Costa in their title-winning 2016-17 side. It’s been the variety of goals; curled efforts arrowed into corners from beyond the penalty box, looping dinks over goalkeepers, low finishes through traffic and astute follow-up headers.
Palmer’s brilliance this season extends beyond his plentiful goalscoring return. He roams around the football pitch like a child playing in the playground, approaching the highest level in a freewheeling nature resulting in subtle nutmegs, dizzying jinks and spins and a general level of extreme bravery and inventiveness whenever the ball is at his feet.
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He’s a rare breed of player who, with the ball at their feet, nothing is off limits and everything feels possible. Without him, Chelsea are rudderless, lost at sea and greatly threatened by capsizing. With him, they’re always a chance of collecting something from a game, which is why it’s unequivocal Cole Palmer has been the Premier League’s best player this season.
