Pat Nevin has been speaking about Cole Palmer and has claimed the England international is proving him right with his incredible performances.
Palmer has been nothing short of a revelation since he arrived at Chelsea from Manchester City on deadline day in the 2023 summer window for £42.5m.
The 22-year-old took the Premier League by storm and was named Premier League Young Player of the Year after scoring 22 goals and providing 11 assists.
Palmer proving Nevin right
Palmer’s rise to the top of the game has been meteoric given before the start of last season he hadn’t even scored a Premier League goal, with Maresca recently saying what’s impressed him most about the attacker.
The task facing Palmer is can he replicate or even better what he did last season, and with seven goals and five assists in the first nine games he looks like he’s more than capable of doing it.
Chelsea legend Gianfranco Zola has described Palmer as a future Ballon d’Or winner, and on early evidence it’s hard to argue against that.
Very few if any would have backed Palmer to have the impact he’s had and so quickly, but former Blue Nevin claimed he predicted the Englishman’s talent when he made his City debut.
“I told you this Palmer lad was special!, he said in his BBC Football Extra newsletter.
“A while back I wrote on this page about my initial thoughts on seeing Cole Palmer come on in his first substitute appearance for Manchester City, ‘I think I have just seen the new Kevin de Bruyne,’ I ventured.
“Much surprise from my BBC colleagues followed but at the weekend the youngster produced a pass that De Bruyne would have not only been proud of but might just have classed as one of the best of his career.”
Those close to Palmer would have known of his talents, but how quickly he’s established himself is incredible and right now he’s arguably the best player in the Premier League and one of the best in the world.
