Chelsea signing Cole Palmer in the summer from Manchester City for just over £40m to me represents very smart recruitment and should be used as the blueprint for Chelsea moving forward.
The Blues need more balance of proven experienced quality to young and unproven players in this current squad. But the biggest key for me is signing players with proven Premier League experience.
It is not always going to work, but it certainly increases the chances of a player being successful when joining Chelsea from another club, if that club is already playing in the Premier League.
Having experience, no matter how big or small, of the physicality, the pace, the tactics, and demands of playing in this league for me can be absolutely vital.
Cole Palmer might have arrived at Chelsea as just a 21-year-old, but he is a 21-year-old who has been in and around Manchester City’s first team squad for the last four seasons, gaining 41 appearances along the way.
Those 41 appearances would have been an absolutely essential part of why he is already being so successful at Chelsea and earning constant props from around the footballing world.
Cole Palmer Vs Aston Villa
Experience is key, and I truly believe that Chelsea’s naive squad build has left them without key Premier League proven players, or at least players with experience of this league, and that if they balanced it out a bit more with the new signings alongside some quality experience, then they would not be in as bad a league position as they are currently in.
But experience doesn’t just mean a 30-year-old player, it means a Cole Palmer as well, arriving with 40 appearances of playing in English football under Pep Guardiola. That is a hugely smart signing, especially for the relatively low fee that we ended up paying for him this summer.
These are the types of smart signings that the club should be making, alongside other smart signings such as Malo Gusto, who of course didn’t come with any Premier League experience.
I am not saying it is the be all and end all and only players with experience of this league will succeed, I am just saying that in my view, it gives them a better chance of success at Chelsea, or at least immediate success at Chelsea.
There is no adapting to a new country, adapting to a new league, and no learning a new language from scratch. These are just all huge positives that would make a key difference.
And finally, this is literally what Blues boss Mauricio Pochettino has been asking for more of in his team, Premier League proven players. And you can see with how Palmer has become the talisman and the shining light at Chelsea, as to why Pochettino places such an importance on this kind of thing.
Photo by Chelsea FC via Getty Images
Pundits have been consistently raving about Palmer lately, and he fully deserves the props.
“Cole Palmer could be the new Kevin De Bruyne. I’ve said that before and took a lot of stick for it. I even said it on national radio when he was still at Manchester City. I don’t make hyperbolic statements and I don’t exaggerate, so it was a big statement,”
Pat Nevin recently told Lucky Block.
“If you watch Palmer, you can see it now. He picks the right ball and he’s the one who creates everything. He’s the one who makes Chelsea special.
“Palmer is the best Chelsea signing of the Boehly era. I don’t even have to wait a millisecond to answer that question.
“I’m not sure how the other signings will develop or how well they’ll perform in the future, but Chelsea lacked a creative vision. It was so obvious.
“Cole Palmer just fell into their lap. People may dismiss him as a lucky signing, but Chelsea had to go for him when he was available. I knew he was their best player before he’d even kicked a ball for them.
“I’d seen a bit of him and covered a lot of City games he played in, though. I played in a similar position to him as a creative forward playing behind the striker, and I always look at what these players can do.
“Manchester City and Barcelona players all have the vision – not many players have that, but Palmer is one of them. To this day, I thank Manchester City for selling him to Chelsea. I was surprised he left, but I suppose Phil Foden, Kevin De Bruyne, and Bernardo Silva aren’t bad.
“Palmer is Chelsea’s main man.”
And remember, Palmer succeeding at Chelsea was never a dead set. In fact, I remember quite a few Chelsea fans being apposed to the signing. Nothing is guaranteed, but the fact he came with experience of playing in English football for me, has been a huge help.
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