Cole Palmer: From bench warmer at Manchester City to Chelsea’s most prized asset
New Delhi: Cole Palmer, once a bench warmer at multiple-time winners Manchester City, joined Chelsea at the beginning of the 2023/24 Premier League season and is now one of the highest-rated youngsters in football.
Cole produced one of the outstanding debut campaigns for Chelsea in which he netted 25 goals in all competitions, was named the Premier League Young Player of the Season, and scooped the club’s Player of the Season and Premier League Players Association’s Player of the Season honours. He rounded it all by lifting the PFA Young Player of the Year award.
Palmer’s astounding goal-scoring record comes to light after he scored four goals in the first half against Brighton and Hove Albion on Saturday, becoming the first player to do so in league history.
He set or matched many club records along the way and made his mark on the international stage with England, becoming only the second player in the country’s history to score in a European Championship final.
Cole arrived at Stamford Bridge last August from Manchester City and required little time to make an impact. He netted his first goal on his third Blues start – a now trademark nerveless penalty – and established himself as a key figure in Chelsea’s attack.
There were big goals in big matches for Cole during the first half of the 2023/24 season, most notably at home against Arsenal and Manchester City and away to Tottenham Hotspur. More followed in the final months of the campaign, including back-to-back Stamford Bridge hat-tricks against Manchester United and Everton.
Cole became the first Chelsea player to achieve that feat in a single season – and later became just the third Blue to score at least 20 goals in their debut campaign which is why the question arises why did Manchester City let him leave, and that too for a fee of 42.5 million Pounds.
According to Pep Guardiola, Palmer wanted regular minutes at Manchester City and even admitted he maybe should have played him more minutes during a press conference last season.
“Playing that level is exceptional. He’s an exceptional player. I didn’t give the minutes that maybe he deserved and now he has at Chelsea. I understand completely. He’s a shy guy with a lot of potential. It is what it is. He’s playing fantastic so what can I say, the decision has been made for many reasons,” said Guardiola.