Having made a mockery of questions over his £42 million ($53m) price tag, the attacker has the ability to star for the Three Lions this summer
Eyebrows hit the ceiling when Chelsea capped another transfer window of extravagant spending by splurging £42 million ($53m) on Manchester City academy product Cole Palmer in the summer – a player with only a handful of senior starts to his name at the time. Fast-forward six months and that price tag looks more like a bargain with each passing day, with Palmer proving to be one of – if not the – signings of the season.
The attacker has emerged as Chelsea's most important player aged just 21. He boasts 24 goal contributions – added to the two he already had for City before his exit – and is leading the way in pretty much every attacking metric for his new club.
It is little surprise, then, that he has taken strides forward in his international career, too. There was an element of luck to his initial call-up to Gareth Southgate's senior England squad in November amid a raft of injuries, but Palmer's form means he is now well and truly in the frame with Euro 2024 on the horizon. Indeed, he should be starting for the Three Lions in Germany.
England's leading lights
One statistic in particular puts Palmer's sublime form at Chelsea into perspective.
In terms of young English players making a significant mark at the very highest level, Jude Bellingham's remarkable exploits at Real Madrid have justifiably dominated the headlines – but Palmer is now matching his esteemed compatriot's attacking output.
With yet another goal and assist as he inspired the 3-2 victory over Newcastle at Stamford Bridge, Palmer moved level with Bellingham at the top of the rankings for goal contributions in Europe's top-five leagues by players aged 21 or under, with both now sitting on 19.
The English duo are outperforming plenty of highly-regarded competition from across the continent, including Bayern Munich's Jamal Musiala (13), Florian Wirtz of Bayer Leverkusen (16) and RB Leipzig's Paris Saint-Germain loanee Xavi Simons (14).
AdvertisementGettyPotential to thrill
The prospect, then, of Palmer and Bellingham playing in the same team is mouth-watering. The in-form pair were two ships passing in the night in the last international break as Bellingham withdrew from Southgate's squad just a day after Palmer was promoted from the Under-21s, but March friendlies against Belgium and Brazil could see them line up together for the first time – if Southgate throws his usual caution to the wind.
It might be a little -esque, but a central trio of Declan Rice, Bellingham and Palmer has the potential to dominate in every area of the midfield in Germany. Although he has excelled as a more advanced midfielder in Spain, the Real Madrid star is perfectly capable of fulfilling a box-to-box role and putting in a tenacious defensive shift as well as supporting the attack – something he showed at the 2022 World Cup in Qatar. Rice, meanwhile, is proving himself to be among the best defensive midfielders on the planet in Arsenal's title push and is more than capable of acting as the lone anchor.
Palmer and Phil Foden provide some tactical flexibility for the manager ahead of them. Both are capable of operating centrally or out wide, with the Chelsea man admitting he prefers to play off the right. If he is deployed as an attacking midfielder, though, he has already demonstrated he has the ability to unlock some of the best defences around.
Getty Big-game player
Indeed, the 21-year-old has already proved he is no shrinking violet on the biggest stage.
This season alone Palmer has bagged for ex-club Man City in the Community Shield and UEFA Super Cup, netted a penalty against Arsenal, repeated the trick and assisted against Tottenham, fired in another from the spot against his former employers and squeezed home a fine effort on the road at Manchester United.
Goal contributions aside, though, his performance levels have rarely dipped as he exhibits the kind of consistency and swagger that are required attributes if you want to become world-class. His elite mentality would be invaluable in the boiling pot of the knockout stages of a major tournament.
GettyOutshining his rivals
Much can – and will – change over the next couple of months as Southgate mulls over some big selection decisions, with friendlies against Brazil and Belgium in March likely to provide a clearer picture of his plans.
As it stands, though, Palmer should have a clear run to the starting line-up, let alone the squad; the Chelsea man is enjoying a far more productive campaign than his main rivals for an attacking midfield role, with both James Maddison and Eberechi Eze enduring injury troubles, and former favourite Mason Mount almost out of the picture altogether as he struggles for form and fitness at Man Utd.
His former team-mate Foden is enjoying another fine season at City, but he is likely to start on the left wing with neither Jack Grealish nor Marcus Rashford demonstrating anything close to their best form in Manchester. Trent Alexander-Arnold's rebirth as a central midfielder could make things interesting, but even the Liverpool assist machine doesn't carry the same attacking threat.