Former Chelsea winger Joe Cole had the good fortune to be a TNT Sports pundit tonight.
He got to be the Blues-aligned pundit on their coverage, and it must have been quite the roller coaster as he watched his old team go 2-0 up, 3-2 down then win 4-3.
Speaking after the game, he had only one name on his lips – Cole Palmer.
The attacking midfielder scored two pressure penalties then lashed one in with a deflection to seal his hat trick and earn Chelsea a win out of nowhere.
He made a really interesting point that we loved – that Palmer’s “magical” qualities were filling in for the leadership vacuum in the team.
Especially without Thiago Silva on the pitch, this is an extremely young group, often without anyone really showing them the way. They can turn to Palmer, and though he’s still inexperienced, his quality counts the same.
You can see the pundit speaking in the clip embedded here:
"For me Cole Palmer is the signing of the season" 🔥
Do you agree…? 🤔
📺 @tntsports & @discoveryplusUK pic.twitter.com/AgZ8pg6EtN
— Football on TNT Sports (@footballontnt) April 4, 2024
As good as he was in the final third, Palmer was not without some pretty obvious faults—giving the ball away repeatedly by forcing passes that just weren’t on. It’s like he’s decided that he has to shoulder the full “playmaking” burden and, therefore, has to make every pass THE ball that unlocks the defence. It’s yet another instance of a young player in this side needing to learn to make the “right” decision more consistently.