‘Amazing impact’: Assessing Cole Palmer’s record-breaking debut Chelsea season

Cole Palmer continued his remarkable debut season for Chelsea with a four-goal masterclass in the 6-0 destruction of Everton.

By Jon Turner | April 17, 2024

When Chelsea announced the signing of Cole Palmer from Manchester City on deadline day last September, fans were understandably giddy.

Here was a talented, highly rated 20-year-old English player with massive potential. He just needed games and the right environment to start to realise it.

It took Palmer just two starts (in fifth overall appearance) to open his Chelsea account, claiming a goal and an assist in the 4-1 win at Burnley on October 7. He scored again the following game – a 2-2 draw with Arsenal – and helped himself to another goal-assist double two matches later in the bonkers 4-1 win at Tottenham.

Five goal involvements in his first eight league games for the Blues, Palmer was already starting to cook when he had his first reunion with City.

And it was against his boyhood club – the club who refused to guarantee the minutes he wanted – where Palmer first truly showed his superstar quality.

In a game of monumental chaos, Palmer was composure personified. When he lined up to take that last-minute penalty to earn Chelsea a deserved share of the points, every Blue on earth was wracked with nerves, the electric atmosphere inside Stamford Bridge crackling with tension and anticipation.

But not Palmer. Up he stepped to emphatically slot beyond Ederson before turning to a euphoric Chelsea crowd with a shrug to simply say, ‘What were you worried about?’.

It was in that one moment we all knew that Palmer was built different. The skill, the talent, the potential were all obvious. But that elite-level mindset that separates the good from the great, only a special few possess it. Those special few who, when everyone else is losing their heads, they become calmer; who when the pressure cranks up, their focus becomes clearer.

It’s often displayed in the way they carry themselves on the pitch – a strut, a swagger, an unwavering self-confidence – like they’re operating on a different level. From this new generation, Jude Bellingham has it. Kylian Mbappe has it. Jamal Musiala has it. Cole Palmer has it.

From that moment against City, Palmer has only continued to astound, and in the last month his performances have hit stratospheric levels. Not only the form player in the Premier League but in European football, Palmer has 13 goal involvements in his last five games alone.

After a goal and assist in the 3-2 win over Newcastle and a brace against Burnley, Palmer had his greatest night as a Chelsea player with his barely believable hat-trick against Manchester United, scoring twice deep in injury time to seal a momentous 4-3 victory.

Yet just two matches later – after a comparatively subdued display at Sheffield United, where he still had an assist – Palmer topped it. With his four-goal masterclass against Everton, the England winger set a host of club records to further cement his status as one of the biggest talents in world football…

Palmer records and stats after Everton game

• The first Chelsea player to score in seven successive games at Stamford Bridge
• The first Chelsea player to score a first-half Premier League hat-trick
• The first Chelsea player since Frank Lampard in 2010 to score four goals in a single Premier League game
• The first Chelsea player since Didier Drogba (May/August 2010) to score consecutive Premier League hat-tricks at Stamford Bridge – but the first player to do it in the same season
• Only the third player to score 20+ goals in his debut season for Chelsea after Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink (23 goals in 2000/01) and Diego Costa (20 goals in 2014/15)
• With his four goals against Everton, Palmer moved level with Erling Haaland as the Premier League’s top goalscorer on 20
• He is perfect from the penalty spot, scoring nine from nine – only Yaya Toure (11/11) has a better 100% conversion rate

What makes all of this even more remarkable is that Palmer is far from a one-track goalscorer. He rarely even plays centrally. In addition to all the goals, the 21-year-old has nine Premier League assists – only one less than league leaders Pascal Gross, Kieran Trippier, and Ollie Watkins.

“The impact on the team was amazing from day one,” Pochettino said after the Everton demolition. “We always expect the best with everyone we sign, so it has not surprised us. He was always the player with the capacity to score goals, even in Manchester City.

“But the way he adapted himself and the way he is playing and performing is fantastic. It is amazing for the team, amazing for him, and shows that the club made the right decision by signing him.”

With a ridiculous 36 goal involvements (23 goals, 13 assists) in 38 games across all competitions, Palmer takes his incomparable form into a massive FA Cup semi-final, and another duel with old club City, at Wembley on Saturday.

Chelsea have more than held their own against the mighty City this season, following the crazy early-season 4-4 draw at the Bridge with a 1-1 draw at the Etihad, where the Blues were seven minutes from victory.

Following Monday’s morale-boosting mauling of Everton and with Palmer leading the way, a place in the FA Cup final is no longer a blind fantasy, but a genuine possibility.