20. Cole Palmer

[Fulham Broadway 16,393]

He has made it in the game.

Reminds me of Torres, not the one we ended up with but when he was at Liverpool

Our best player by far atm. Guaranteed Real Madrid will 'be linked' with him in the Summer

[James 5,140]

 

[NikkiCFC 7,587]

13g 7a this season already in minutes equal to just over 20 games. Last time we had a player with that much input in goals was Hazard in 18/19 season.

[Special Juan 27,103]

Joy to watch, plays with ease and and takes responsibility on the field.

[Magic Lamps 11,451]

He is indeed very promising. Already delivering amidst the total chaos and shambles the club is in. Great maturity and mental fortitude at a young age. If he stays injury free he may well become our main man. Almost all our great successes in the past have come with a goal/assist source from midfield with either Lampard or Hazard regularly outshining the designated strikers. 
also a prime example of how every blind dog has its day in terms of Clownlakes scattergun transfer strategy. 

[milka 3,308]

He is coached by Guardiola with players around him who have the mentality of a winner at citeh nothing surprising probably if we get Rico Lewis he will look like our best player too

[Strike 6,964]

1 hour ago, milka said:

He is coached by Guardiola with players around him who have the mentality of a winner at citeh nothing surprising probably if we get Rico Lewis he will look like our best player too

There’s something about the City setup. I don’t think anyone who’s left City in the last few years have been bad signings for other clubs. 

Zinchenko, Jesus, Palmer, Gundogan, Cancelo and even Sterling to an extent have all done well. People were saying we were targeting City rejects but they seem to be really good in general even if they are not the best at City. 

[King Kante 1,300]

13 minutes ago, Strike said:

There’s something about the City setup. I don’t think anyone who’s left City in the last few years have been bad signings for other clubs. 

Zinchenko, Jesus, Palmer, Gundogan, Cancelo and even Sterling to an extent have all done well. People were saying we were targeting City rejects but they seem to be really good in general even if they are not the best at City. 

It is because Pep values two things highly - a players ability to read the game off the ball and a players efficency on the ball. The thing that impresses me most with Palmer is his lack of mistakes, rarely does he take the wrong option and if he does, he doesn't do it again. 

Edited January 24 by King Kante

[Strike 6,964]

17 minutes ago, King Kante said:

It is because Pep values two things highly - a players ability to read the game off the ball and a players efficency on the ball. The thing that impresses me most with Palmer is his lack of mistakes, rarely does he take the wrong option and if he does, he doesn't do it again. 

The first part doesn’t show up on the data sheets too - the ability to read the game off the ball. 

[Fernando 6,376]

Does that means that lavia will also come good? 

 

[Magic Lamps 11,451]

3 hours ago, Fernando said:

Does that means that lavia will also come good? 

 

cant be worse than caicedo

but lavia did not exactly spend loads of time with pep

[ZAPHOD2319 3,873]

Thinks about changing the name of the thread to Cold Palmer….resists

 

[Vesper 27,325]

Why Cole Palmer returns to Man City as Chelsea’s most potent attacking force

https://theathletic.com/5277740/2024/02/16/Chelsea-cole-palmer-analysis/

One of the most positive lessons Chelsea have learned about their young squad this season is that nothing fazes Cole Palmer, and it is difficult to imagine that changing even in the face of the cocktail of emotions he will feel returning to the Etihad Stadium on Saturday.

Palmer is seven months into his Chelsea career. Those seven months have yielded more senior professional minutes across all competitions (2,200) than he garnered over the previous four seasons (1,503) on the first-team fringes at City. Along the way, he has become one of head coach Mauricio Pochettino’s most important players, the club’s designated penalty taker and, more often than not, the brain of the team in the final third.

Palmer’s impact has been so consistent that his presence in the starting XI has never been up for debate: 10 goals and six assists in 20 Premier League appearances while being utilised as a right winger, a No 10, a false No 9 and, on occasion, even as a No 8. Barring injury, it is not a matter of if he starts against City — only where.

“I prefer him on the pitch at the moment!” Pochettino joked when asked about the 21-year-old’s best position.

The Athletic takes a closer look at what makes Palmer such a potent attacking force…

---

He rarely makes a bad decision

Chelsea have specialised in finding a startling array of ways to snuff out promising transition attacks in recent years. Palmer is a breath of fresh air in that regard, not because he finds solutions that no one else can but because when the ball is at his feet he can be relied upon to consistently identify the best option and execute it.

On Monday night, from the moment Moises Caicedo released him from a Crystal Palace corner kick in added time at Selhurst Park, Chelsea always looked likely to end up with a great shooting chance.

Christopher Nkunku makes a smart diagonal run from left to right ahead of the ball to drag the two remaining defenders with him, but Palmer keeps an eye on Enzo Fernandez’s support run and adjusts his own speed to bring the Argentine into play.

He then waits for the perfect moment to slip the ball through to the open man in the box, and Chelsea have their third goal…

Palmer created a similar chance a few minutes earlier, initially darting into the penalty area when it looked as if Nkunku had broken through, then retracing his steps to gather a cutback, ignoring the more obvious pass to an overlapping Malo Gusto and instead wrong-footing multiple Palace defenders with a sharp ball into the feet of an unmarked Raheem Sterling…

Here are two similar examples from different matches. Against Palace, Nkunku is calling for the ball in the box, but Palmer correctly assesses that the path to Conor Gallagher just outside the box is less obscured and he has the space to shoot — and ultimately score…

But in the 4-1 win over Burnley, the circumstances were slightly different: while Gallagher is unmarked in an almost identical position, Palmer recognises that he has the room to slip a pass between two defenders into the feet of Nicolas Jackson in the middle of the box…

 

This ability to pick the smartest play available, coupled with Palmer’s talent for pulling off more incisive passes, makes him a threat anywhere in the final third if he has time on the ball.

Here against Middlesbrough in the Carabao Cup, he has two simple options left and right to Caicedo and Noni Madueke respectively, but spots a chance to clip the ball over the visiting defence for Axel Disasi. His pinpoint delivery gives the centre-back a wide-open shot…

Palmer is the best attacking decision-maker Pochettino has, so it is unsurprising that he leads the entire Chelsea squad with nine assists across all competitions this season.

---

He picks the right moments to become a No 10

Pochettino affords Palmer considerable freedom within his Chelsea system. The 21-year-old starts on the right flank mostly, and plays most of his progressive passes from there…

Wide on the right is also where Palmer gets most of his touches when Chelsea are in possession, as you can see in the graphic below…

But it is not where he does the bulk of his shot creation. Palmer regularly drifts infield when Chelsea have the ball, finding pockets of space between the opposition lines to receive passes on the half-turn and thread a quick ball through to one of his attacking teammates.

 

This sequence below, against Middlesbrough, is fairly typical: Thiago Silva has the ball and Palmer, facing his centre-back, is being screened by three opponents, but recognises there is space to his right. He moves into it, so Silva whips a pass into his feet.

As another defender is drawn out to confront Palmer, he slips the ball past him to generate a good shooting chance for Fernandez…

A similar movement from Palmer was decisive in Chelsea’s 1-0 win over Brighton & Hove Albion in the same competition in September.

As shown below, he starts running as Caicedo shapes to pass the ball to Ian Maatsen, correctly anticipating that a defender will be drawn out of the space he is moving into. Maatsen finds him and with two deft touches, he sucks in and then nutmegs Jan Paul van Hecke, giving Jackson a golden chance to score the only goal of the game…

Palmer is averaging 4.5 shot-creating actions per 90 minutes in the Premier League this season, according to Fbref.com. That ranks 18th in the division, putting him between Dejan Kulusevski and Luis Diaz. That ranking improves to 11th when only live-ball passes (so excluding set pieces) that lead to a shot attempt are considered.

Those numbers suggest this aspect of Palmer’s game is very good rather than truly elite, though his age is also important to consider. All of the players who rank above him in both categories are older except for one: Jeremy Doku, the man whose arrival at City last summer crystallised Palmer’s need to leave in search of first-team football.

---

He is a menace off the ball

Anyone who has watched Palmer regularly for Chelsea this season will have been struck by how often opposition defenders and goalkeepers seem to just pass him the ball. This has very little to do with luck and a lot to do with how smart and relentlessly active he is at all times.

Palmer is a supremely diligent and intelligent presser, arcing his runs and positioning his body to cut off an opponent’s preferred passing options. It is a big part of the reason why Pochettino is so comfortable deploying him as a No 9, particularly as it allows him to work in devilish tandem with fellow pressing monster Gallagher to harass opposition defenders into mistakes.

But even when Palmer is not the one applying the primary pressure to an opponent, he constantly adjusts his body position to be poised to intercept any hurried pass that comes his way.

Below, against Aston Villa in the FA Cup, he moves early to his left before Clement Lenglet has even released the ball, and is rewarded with a one-on-one shooting chance against Emi Martinez…

Here in the first leg of Chelsea’s Carabao Cup semi-final against Middlesbrough, Palmer scans to his right before Jonny Howson even turns on the ball, commits to the interception as the opposing captain commits to the pass, and generates another golden opportunity out of nothing…

 

Palmer’s off-ball intelligence also makes him a dangerous runner when Chelsea are in possession.

Against Wolves, he begins his run behind Toti Gomes before Gallagher’s lay-off has even reached Caicedo. Going this early generates a crucial advantage over the defender. Caicedo’s pass is pinpoint and so is Palmer’s first-time finish…

Similarly against Luton Town, Palmer starts his run the precise moment he realises that Jackson has managed to spin his opponent near the halfway line, and this speed of thought continues when he is through on goal: rolling the ball nonchalantly under his foot to round the goalkeeper, then calmly finishing in a crowd of scrambling defenders.

 

There are many attackers — even some very successful ones — who do their work in bursts of activity on the pitch. Palmer is so dangerous because he never switches off.

---

Palmer’s spectacular start to life at Chelsea has not prompted any anguished reflection at City on the decision to sell him last summer, either in public or in private. Nothing he has done in a blue shirt has shaken the belief that he would likely still have been no more than a support player at City, playing far fewer minutes than would satisfy him.

Such is the current gulf between the two clubs, City do not need to be proven wrong for Palmer to be considered one of Chelsea’s best players and a foundational star for this vast investment project overseen by Todd Boehly and Clearlake Capital. The bar to achieve stardom is simply much lower at Stamford Bridge than it is at the Etihad Stadium — at least for now.

But that does not mean Palmer cannot continue to grow into a player that City regret losing. He does not turn 22 until May and already does many things that impact winning at Premier League level. He already carries himself with an unshakeable composure and the kind of self-assurance — epitomised by five converted penalties from five attempts this season, several under huge pressure — that suggests he believes no stage is too big for him.

Pochettino has been suitably impressed to compare Palmer to a Champions League and World Cup winner in an interview with TNT Sport last month. “In the position that he plays, and because he’s a left-footer and because he has some similarities and the quality, he’s a potential Angel Di Maria,” Chelsea’s head coach said.

Palmer will likely need to produce his best for Chelsea to have any chance of derailing a rampant City at the Etihad Stadium on Saturday. Everything he has shown at his new club so far indicates he will relish the challenge.

[Fernando 6,376]

Joe Shields getting praise from the press for Palmer......

Cole Palmer thriving for Chelsea ahead of Man City return following reunion with talent-spotter Joe Shields

Chelsea's recruitment has come under scrutiny but Cole Palmer has been a success story; Joe Shields, their co-director of recruitment and talent, knew him from Manchester City; watch Man City vs Chelsea live on Sky Sports Premier League on Saturday; kick-off 5.30pm

Image:Cole Palmer has shone since his move from Man City to Chelsea

 

Conor Gallagher and Enzo Fernandez scored the goals that clinched Chelsea's 3-1 win over Crystal Palace on Monday. But it was no surprise to see Cole Palmer have a hand in both.

After laying the ball back for Gallagher to score Chelsea's second, the 21-year-old played the through-ball for Fernandez to add the third. With six assists to add to his 10 goals, he has been directly involved in nearly 40 per cent of Chelsea's total this season.

Where would they be without him? It hardly bears thinking about given they sit 10th as it is. But it could easily have been their reality. Palmer was an eleventh-hour signing and might never have arrived at all if not for the influence of Joe Shields.

Chelsea's co-director of recruitment and talent, formerly of Manchester City and Southampton, is said to have played a significant role in his arrival from the Etihad Stadium, completed for a fee of £42.5m on the final day of the summer transfer window.

The club's recruitment under Todd Boehly and Behdad Eghbali has of course thrown up more questions than answers. But there can be no doubting the wisdom of signing Palmer.

Not that it necessarily felt that way at the time.

Palmer had only started three Premier League games under Pep Guardiola. But Shields was convinced of his potential having watched him closely across a nine-year spell at City during which he rose to the role of head of academy recruitment.

His work there, starting out as their academy scouting manager for the south of the UK, earned him a stellar reputation, with Jadon Sancho among the many players he identified and helped to recruit before moving to Southampton and, subsequently, Chelsea.

His belief in Palmer has been emphatically vindicated and the hope for Chelsea is that Romeo Lavia, another former City academy player who Shields previously took to Southampton, will prove similarly successful once he recovers from injury.

That would be another boon for Shields, who is only 36 but whose experience in the industry spans two decades and whose journey to the top began at grassroots level in Croydon, south London, in the form of community coaching sessions in Thornton Heath.

"Joe had basically decided coaching wasn't for him," says Harry Hudson, who worked at the same sessions and now runs the Kinetic Academy. "So, while I was focusing on coaching, Joe was trying to go his own way, bringing players to the sessions, finding gems.

"It was difficult because, 20 years ago, there weren't as many roles in football as there are now. There was coaching, but there were no analysts. Agents weren't as big a thing. Scouting was this back-of-a-fag-packet role nobody really understood."

Shields was also coming at it as a teenager with no prior professional experience in the industry.

"That made it even harder for him," adds Hudson. "But Joe just had this incredible passion. He was so interested in being out and active in the community finding players. He got an absolute buzz from it. You could see that when he found someone.

"And then he had his ridiculous ability to spot talent."

It soon got him noticed. "When you're finding players, it quickly puts you on the map," says Hudson. Part-time scouting roles at Crystal Palace and Fulham followed. Even after going full-time at Palace, Shields continued flagging players to Hudson.

One of them was striker Josh Maja, who has gone on to play for Sunderland, Fulham, Bordeaux and West Brom while also representing Nigeria internationally, and who now serves as one of many examples of Shields' ability to forecast potential.

"Josh had just come out of Fulham's academy aged 13," says Hudson. "Joe brought him into a session with us at Kinetic and told me, 'This player is going to play in the Premier League one day'.

"I did the session and I wasn't convinced. I said, 'Joe, I don't see it, he doesn't move well'. Joe just said, 'Trust me, he's got it. Work with him, develop him and he will be there'.

"He was 100 per cent right but I didn't see it at the time. I didn't see that long-term potential in Josh like Joe did. And I like to think of myself as someone who can see talent."

Shields was even more confident on Sancho. He is sometimes credited for "unearthing" the winger, which is not strictly true. But he was certainly aware of his potential from early on.

"When Watford picked up Sancho, Joe said he would be in the England squad in six years," says Hudson. "I remember saying to him, 'Are you joking? He's a kid'. In the end he got there even quicker."

Shields' talent-spotting ability and exhaustive knowledge of the younger market have been key to his rise in the industry. "He knows all the good young players and all the kids who have potential," former Southampton boss Ralph Hasenhuttl told Sky Sports after Shields' appointment as head of senior recruitment at St Mary's in 2022. But he is similarly skilled at building relationships.

"Having the foresight to think a player can be great is one thing but convincing a coaching team at a club to actually sign that player is probably the hardest part of any job in recruitment," says Hudson.

"Especially when we are talking about young players from areas such as south London. A coach might have worked with their group for six months. They know Jimmy will do what he is coached to do.

"So, if a player comes in who is a bit of a wildcard, who does things off the cuff, it is only natural for the coach to have a bias towards the player they already know and trust.

"It is often about having those relationships where you can get coaches and staff members to see the vision you do. That is something Joe has always had quite a unique ability for."

That ability is now being applied at the highest level. But, back in south London, Shields is still known for his eagerness to help open doors for young players, coaches and others who might be looking to break into the world of recruitment.

"Even when Joe was working at City, there were players that he referred to us at Kinetic," says Hudson. "At other times, I would go to him with a player who I thought could get a deal, not at City but somewhere, and he would always be eager to help.

"If he could see the player's potential, whether it was for Man City or Ipswich Town, he would always try to help the kid and his family out. That's something that is pretty unusual in football."

Shields retains family ties in the area. "He came down to our 10-year anniversary match at Kinetic a few years ago, at Selhurst Park, to see us all and talk to some of the players who have been through our programme," says Hudson.

"He spoke about players who have been released from professional academies and might want to go into scouting and recruitment, that he would always be there to help them in any way he could.

"He is in a different stratosphere now. He has come a long way from the Croydon days. But I do genuinely believe that is true... It just might take him a few more days to get back to you than it did."

Such are the demands of his role at Chelsea. Saturday's return to Manchester City shines a light on the Cole Palmer success story. But, for Shields, the search is now on to deliver more.

https://www.skysports.com/football/news/11095/13072250/cole-palmer-thriving-for-Chelsea-ahead-of-man-city-return-following-reunion-with-talent-spotter-joe-shields

 

 

Edited February 16 by Fernando

[Johnnyeye 7,414]

bottler

[Special Juan 27,103]

Called up to the England squad for the two friendlies

[Vesper 27,325]

In Cole Palmer, England have a player made for the big moments

https://theathletic.com/5353363/2024/03/20/cole-palmer-england-gareth-southgate/

Sometimes in life, success can be all about timing.

Over the past year, Cole Palmer has timed to perfection his emergence from a promising academy player at Manchester City into arguably Chelsea’s key performer and now a possible England squad regular.

Palmer has gone from the fringes at club level to a strong contender to play a major part at Euro 2024 this summer after a sensational season at Chelsea.

There is often a late runner to make the plane and, carried by a knack for staying composed in the big moments, Palmer, 21, has emerged to add to Southgate’s impressive options in attacking positions.

Last summer, after rising through the academy ranks to be a part of Pep Guardiola’s squad, his 15 years at Manchester City culminated in lifting the treble, but that still wasn’t enough for Palmer.

He made 25 appearances during Manchester City’s unforgettable season but only started seven games. That wasn’t why he had spent hours after school practising with his father, Jermaine, in a park in Wythenshawe. He wanted to play and made the first big decision that hinted at the mental strength and self-belief he has shown since.

His £42.5million ($54m) move to Chelsea surprised many — initially because Chelsea had spent so much on a promising but unproven young player and then, as he began to establish himself and make headlines, because Guardiola allowed such an obvious talent to leave.

“If Palmer had the minutes I gave to Phil Foden from the beginning, Cole Palmer would be here — but I didn’t give them to him,” Guardiola later admitted. “That is my responsibility.

“Why? Because of Bernardo Silva, Riyad Mahrez, Phil. In that moment, I chose the other ones.”

This season has been the first time Palmer has lived outside of Manchester, away from his close family circle and friends, but on the pitch, he has seemed to settle instantly into Mauricio Pochettino’s side.

“It was a big move for me,” Palmer said back in November. “I’ve never been out of Manchester, not even been on loan or anything like that, so to move down (to London) was big.”

With 14 goals and 12 assists in all competitions, including 11 goals and eight assists in the Premier League this season, Palmer is only behind Ollie Watkins, Mohamed Salah, Erling Haaland, Son Heung-min and Bukayo Saka for goal contributions in what is his first campaign as a first-team regular.

Palmer backed himself when he decided to move to Chelsea and he has repeatedly done so since, regularly taking on penalty duties ahead of Raheem Sterling and justifying his manager’s decision by scoring five out of five.

That calmness and ability to execute under pressure was never more evident than when he scored the stoppage-time penalty to snatch a point in a pulsating 4-4 draw with his former club at Stamford Bridge in November.

Southgate was at that game and it must have already been in his mind to give Palmer his first call-up to the senior squad, but the youngster’s performance that afternoon and his temperament to take that penalty would have convinced him it was the right time.

“When I saw the ref point to the penalty spot, Raheem spoke to me,” Palmer said after he linked up with the England squad for the first time at St George’s Park last year.

“He said, ‘What’s happening?’. I said, ‘I want to take it’. He was like, ‘Fine’. Then, when I put the ball down, I just tried to focus on the spot I was going to put it in.”

The nonchalant way in which Palmer explained what happened in that moment revealed two things: first, how much trust his new team-mates had in him to allow such a young player to step up in that pressurised moment and second, how unfazed and confident he is. He is becoming a mentality monster.

“I’ve always liked trying to believe in myself without being over the top,” he says. “I can always be humble with it, but believing in your own ability is going to help you a lot.”

Palmer is rapidly becoming a player for those big moments. He demonstrated that in the summer when he stepped up to take a free kick in first-half stoppage time of the European Under-21 Championship final, beating Spain goalkeeper Arnau Tenas with the help of a wicked deflection off the back of Curtis Jones. It proved to be as decisive a moment as James Trafford’s last-gasp penalty double save.

Palmer proved it again last Sunday in Chelsea’s 4-2 FA Cup quarter-final win over Leicester City. Despite being relatively quiet in the first half when up against his former Manchester City youth team-mate Callum Doyle, he sprung into life to score the crucial second goal on the stroke of half-time and, after Leicester had fought their way back into the game, teed up Carney Chukwuemeka with a sensational backheeled flick to put Chelsea back in front in added time.

The issue for Southgate must be not whether to use Palmer — and the time seems right to give the Chelsea man his first start in the next two friendlies against Brazil on Saturday and Belgium on Tuesday — but how to get the best out of him.

Palmer’s preferred position is off the right, but he has shown for Chelsea he can play anywhere across the front line, even as a false No 9 as well as deeper. Wherever he plays, he always seems to look to be positive, trying to play forward or take opponents on.

He nearly scored in that game against Manchester City when he picked up the ball in space and drove at three defenders before wriggling into the box, but couldn’t beat Ederson.

In such situations, Palmer is usually the coolest player on the pitch, as he showed at Luton Town when he latched onto Nicolas Jackson’s pass and went around goalkeeper Thomas Kaminski…

 

… and despite three recovering defenders closing in on him, he calmly stepped inside them to score his second goal of the game.

When Palmer plays deeper, he has the vision to pick out the runs of team-mates, as he does in this example against Tottenham Hotspur in November when he spots the runs of Jackson and Mykhailo Mudryk.

And against Brentford, he finds the run from deep of full-back Marc Cucurella by delivering an inch-perfect pass.

 

“Mauricio has given me the confidence and the licence to go where I want on the pitch where I feel I can use my strengths,” Palmer says. “I’m just grateful for it.”

Palmer may have only just come into the England reckoning, but he has done so in great form and with momentum.

It could be perfect timing for Palmer but also for Southgate and England because when those big match-defining moments come along, they have a player who has the talent and temperament to deliver.

[Fulham Broadway 16,393]

Cole Palmer has handed Chelsea and England a boost by training on Monday.

Palmer missed England’s 1-0 defeat by Brazil at Wembley on Saturday night but was part of the squad that trained at Tottenham ahead of Tuesday’s next friendly against Belgium.

His return to fitness is good news for Chelsea, who face Burnley on Saturday when the Premier League returns after the international break.

Great news...