Is Cole Palmer the Best Player in the Premier League?

Karan Ahgun

— 4 min read
Is Cole Palmer the Best Player in the Premier League?

After becoming the first ever player to score 4 goals in the first half of a Premier League game, Cole Palmer once again stole headlines after an enigmatic performance for Chelsea against Brighton last weekend. This performance prompted comparisons to Arsenal great Dennis Bergkamp and this begs the question, is Cole Palmer the best player in the Premier League right now?

After transferring from Manchester City to Chelsea in the 2023 summer transfer window, Cole Palmer has made a name for himself as one of the stand out talents in European football. His breakthrough season was remarkable, scoring 22 goals and assisting 11 times. These numbers earned him a place in the England EUROs squad and saw him named the Premier League and PFA Young Player of the Year awards. Initially, it was surprising to see Palmer leave City for Chelsea but he deserves credit for the move because it has given him the platform to showcase his talents regularly and Chelsea will feel that they bought him for a bargain price at £40 million.

Palmer has started this season in the same vein of form. He is the second top-scorer with 6 league goals and is joint second in the assists table with 4. New Chelsea head coach, Enzo Maresca, has redefined Palmer's role in the team from last season. The England international played on the right wing for the majority of last season but has moved inside into a No. 10 position, giving him the freedom of the pitch to go and make a huge impact on any given match. Moving into this position where he can look at the whole pitch and effect a game from anywhere has helped Chelsea too as it has given Noni Madueke the opportunity to showcase his talent and have a good run in the team. Palmer has combined very well with Nicolas Jackson too, with the pair often looking for each other in goal scoring situations . It would be good to see Palmer in the same position for England and being able to link the play between all of England's talented individuals.

After his record-breaking performance against Brighton last weekend, Enzo Maresca described Palmer as "the best player in the league". In addition to Maresca, Jamie Carragher joined him after some analysis on the player on Monday Night Football. Carragher said that he felt that Palmer was the best player in the league last season, but was reluctant to say so due to him playing for an inconsistent Chelsea side. He also likened Palmer to Gareth Bale with the reason for this comparison being that both players are not playing for the best teams in the Premier League but are almost carrying these teams with their outstanding performances over a prolonged period of time. One amazing stat from MNF was that since Palmer's debut for Chelsea, only Harry Kane has more goal involvements in Europe's top 5 leagues. An argument could be made that this stat alone can support the claim that Palmer is the best player in the league. Aside from stats, Palmer also passes the eye test as a player. He is an excellent dribbler and progressive passer of the ball, and one thing that really helps him stand out is his decision-making. He always seems to make the right decision, whether that is to pass to a teammate in a better position or shoot from a favourable angle.

Chelsea have done well to tie Palmer down to a contract which runs until 2033. It gives the club security around the player as they won't need to sell him and even if they were to sell him, they could do it on their own terms. If Palmer continues on his current trajectory, he could be worth more than £100 million and would definitely get more and more personal accolades. Palmer is clearly the best player in the Premier League right now. No one else has the same magnitude of impact on their teams results and the scary thing is, he has so much time to improve his game and potentially push to become one of the greatest Premier League players!

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