Truly, with all the new Chelsea signings from across the last few transfer windows under the new owners, there has only really been two signings that I have really vouched for.
Now that isn’t because I do not rate or appreciate any of the other signings, it’s largely because out of all of them, the ones I have watched and backed the most before we signed them was Carney Chukwuemeka and Cole Palmer.
When we signed them both I was over the moon because I completely vouched for them at the time and I still fully vouch for them both now after having watched them play A LOT before they came here.
The unfortunate thing is that both of them really shine in the same position, which is also the position that Christopher Nkunku will shine in when he returns. So fitting all three in will be a problem, but I guess that’s what you call a good problem?
Palmer for me as I have been saying for weeks now can be and should be our key right now whilst Nkunku is injured, and even beyond that because I have that much belief in him. I’m also being careful as to not pile the pressure on to one player and we still need to make sure this is an entire team effort and not rely on one man for all of our creative spark in attack. We must just enjoy Palmer and allow him to ease in still because last night was only his first start for us.
But I believe in him for a reason, and he showed those reasons last night really standing up as a talisman for Chelsea. For me, he has now become un-droppable. He should have been starting games for us already and I am adamant about that. There is no way that Mauricio Pochettino should even think about dropping him now. I don’t care who he drops to fit Palmer in, that is his problem, but Palmer HAS to start games for us now. He is THAT guy, the one who can make things happen and create goals for us. He can score them too, we have seen that plenty.
Palmer said after the game last night that he can happily play comfortably in any of the attacking roles, even as a striker. I’d happily see him play in any of those roles. We must use him.
Heck I’d even see him playing in the 8 position the way he was tacking back and winning the ball back last night, showing grit and hard work. He’s got it all.
And the one thing that really stood out to me last night that not everyone would have seen, was his leadership actually.
When Robert Sanchez was going through his brain farts for a good 5-10 minutes (yes I know the players didn’t help him either by not getting into ball receiving positions) giving the ball away from every pass out, Palmer was the first one to turn to him and offer him reassurance and motivation. Palmer put his hands out facing down and signalled for Sanchez to relax and calm down, and to take his time with the pass. It wasn’t aggressive, it was motivational and supportive, and this really impressed me. We have been lacking these characters a lot. Moises Caicedo also did the same by the way.
I’m writing this really to give the lad his flowers, but I’m also being careful about expecting too much from him too soon. I don’t want to overhype him. But at the same time I do have so much belief in this player and think he is an all-round top quality footballer.
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