Jamie Carragher was on Monday Night Football this week, and while a lot of their focus pre-game was on the title race and their guest Dele Alli, post game they couldn’t ignore the huge Chelsea win they’d just seen.
At the heart of it was Cole Palmer, who scored FOUR goals in the demolition of Everton, Carragher’s old team. The former defender made a strong case after the game that the attacking midfielder should be a Player of the Year contender.
When you see his numbers, it’s hard to argue with that.
“He nutmegs Branthwaite, plays a little one-two with his partner Jackson. And opens his foot up and finds that far corner. When you’re talking about class and composure, this is brilliant,” Carragher said of his first goal.
“You can pick holes defensively in any goal, but this for me is absolutely sensational for as I said one of the best players in the Premier League.”
He added further comment later on on his X account, where he really made the case for Palmer POTY:
“Cole Palmer was nailed on for YPOTY, how close is he to POTY?!!”
In the end, a player on the title winning team looks certain to get it – but Cole will run them close.
A major contender
It’s always nice to have a player win an award like that, but the reality is that it’s more about what it represents. You tend to get individual awards when your team is doing well, and so proper trophies tend to follow closely behind.
That may not be the case this season – unless something really special happens on Saturday – but it does hopefully hint that we’ve got the first piece of the puzzle in place for a brighter future. His numbers don’t like – now we just need 10 other players on his level.
