Chelsea players celebrate a goal in a huddle.
Chelsea players celebrate a goal in a huddle.

Dimitar Berbatov names Chelsea signing that reminds him of Gareth Bale’s move to Spurs

Former Premier League striker Dimitar Berbatov has Likened Cole Palmer’s move to Chelsea to when Tottenham signed Gareth Bale.

Palmer surprisingly arrived at Stamford Bridge from Manchester City in the summer of 2023 in a deal worth £42.5m, with people not knowing an awful lot about him.

The 22-year-old took the Premier League by storm in what was a breakout campaign as he scored 22 goals and provided 11 assists, which saw him named Premier League Young Player of the Year.

Berbatov likens Palmer’s move to Chelsea to when Bale joined Tottenham

The question surrounding Palmer heading into this season was whether he could replicate or get near what he achieved in the previous campaign.

So far Palmer has more than proven he’s up to the task and has seven goals and five assists from the first ten games of the season, and Gianfranco Zola believes he can be a future Ballon d’Or winner. 

The Blues have spent a lot of money since Todd Boehly and Clearlake Capital took over in 2022, but Palmer is by far the most successful signing to date.

Cole Palmer and Nicolas Jackson celebrate together. (Photo by Mike Hewitt/Getty Images)
Palmer has been on Chelsea’s best signings in recent times. (Photo by Mike Hewitt/Getty Images)

Former striker Berbatov has likened Palmer’s move to Chelsea to when Spurs signed Bale as he was a relative unknown.

“It was £40m on a kid who was unproven, nobody knew anything about him, that is something big,” he told talkSPORT’s The LineUp

“It was the same with Gareth Bale at Tottenham, he was 17 or 16, nobody knew about him, he was trying to prove himself and then he became one of the best ever.

“With Palmer, now we can rave about him, but the challenge now is to stay and be consistent, it’s up to him.”

Chelsea are currently waiting for results of a knee scan after Palmer was on the receiving end of a reckless challenge from Lisandro Martinez in Sunday’s 1-1 draw against Manchester United and will desperately be hoping he’s fit for Sunday’s game against Arsenal.

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