Chelsea news: In-form Cole Palmer continues to be the shining light for Chelsea. Will Guardiola regret letting him go?

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2nd in PL golden boot race 

Cole Palmer has been a revelation at Chelsea this season. Surrounded by mega money signings who aren’t bringing the consistency their price tag merits, the former Manchester City man is the one standing out for the Blues. Already this season, the young attacking midfielder has already played more games in the Premier League than he did in his previous three at Man City. Now finally offered the opportunity, Palmer is delivering and Pep Guardiola might just regret letting the Sky Blues academy product leave.

The young England international was once again on top form for his new club, as he played a vital role in their dramatic 4-3 victory over Manchester United. Just a couple of weeks after seeing his market value increase to €55 million in the latest Premier League update, Palmer scored his first Chelsea hat-trick with two goals deep into stoppage time. Palmer’s first senior treble means he is now sitting comfortable on 16 Premier League goals and eight assists in just 29 games – meaning he is now second in the golden boot race and only two behind the leader – Erling Haaland.

How has Palmer performed for Chelsea this season?

Many were surprised Man City let talented youth product Palmer leave the Etihad to go to a rival Premier League club in a €47m move to Chelsea this summer. But the boyhood City fan has already showcased why he made the move – just 29 games into the season, he has already played significantly more Premier League minutes for Chelsea (1,993) than he did in the last three seasons for the Sky Blues (489). He is Chelsea’s top scorer this season in the Premier League and in all competitions. He has also taken the responsibility of being penalty taker at Chelsea this season, despite being a new signing, just 21 years old, and experienced players such as Raheem Sterling and World Cup winner Enzo Fernández in the squad, highlighting the confidence and maturity Palmer has. No Chelsea player has more league assists, and he has played the most through balls in the squad. Everything is running through Palmer. 

Chelsea’s number 20 has even been likened to a World Cup and Champions League winner. Manager Mauricio Pochettino was asked whether Palmer reminded him of former Blue Juan Mata, and said, “Juan Mata? No, he is more Ángel Di María! You know, the body and the way he moves.” Pochettino was also asked about whether he was surprised Guardiola let Palmer leave Manchester City: ”I think it is not fair to say it surprises me just because now he is performing and he didn’t play too much in City, we are two different clubs, with different objectives. Maybe he fits well for Chelsea. It’s always difficult to judge these kinds of decisions.”

Why did Guardiola let Palmer go and could it come back to bite Man City?

“I said to him ‘Riyad Mahrez is leaving, you are going to get a chance here’. He said ‘No, I’m not going to play here, I want to leave’ so I said ‘OK, leave!'” said Guardiola when asked about Palmer leaving the club, ahead of their game at Stamford Bridge back in November. As aforementioned, game time was hard to come by for Palmer at Man City, playing just 489 Premier League minutes, and only making 47 appearances and just 12 starts for the club, following his debut in 2020 in the English League Cup. Mahrez, Sterling, Jack Grealish, Phil Foden, Julián Àlvarez, Bernardo Silva, Gabriel Jesus, and Ferran Torres are the kind of calibre of forwards Palmer had to compete with for time on the pitch in Guardiola’s relentless trophy winning team. And this summer, after being at the club for 15 years, enough was enough – it was time to move on.

After Man City sold Gabriel Jesus and Oleksandr Zinchenko to Arsenal in the summer of 2022, the Gunners then almost went on to wrestle the Premier League title from Guardiola’s clutches. Before Man City ultimately went on an incredible late run to claim their third league win in a row. At the time Man City didn’t see Arsenal as direct title rivals, but midway through last season reports emerged that the Sky Blues would no longer sell any players to Arsenal.

Right now Chelsea are not a direct rival to Guardiola’s team. They are eleventh in the Premier League, 24 points adrift of City. However, the Blues did reach the League Cup final, and if they can get their lucrative squad to finally click, they will surely start climbing the table before the end of the season. At just 21 years of age, Palmer is already central to that. He has already taken two vital points off of his former boss with a late equaliser in the 4-4 draw at Stamford Bridge, and will have a point to prove to show Guardiola what he is missing.

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