For a time it looked as if nothing was going to derail the Cole Palmer train at Chelsea, with the £40m sensation repeatedly putting in statement performance after statement performance for the west London side.
From netting four in one half against Brighton and Hove Albion, to scoring a delightful panenka penalty against Tottenham Hotspur, the England international had been in red-hot form in the early months of 2024/25, following on from chalking up 33 goals and assists in just 33 Premier League games last season.
As to be expected for a player still just 22, that meteoric rise has faltered somewhat of late, with the former Manchester City man having failed to score since the 2-2 draw with Bournemouth back in mid-January.
Those recent woes were encapsulated by a rare penalty miss against relegation strugglers, Leicester City, last weekend, with the Blues talisman in need of his teammates to step up, after carrying the goalscoring burden for so long.
Even when factoring in this slight slump in 2025, the decision to fork out for Palmer back in the summer of 2023 has been an unequivocal success.
How Palmer compares to Chelsea's Premier League greats
There was a time in which rivals Spurs were somewhat mocked by Pep Guardiola as the “Harry Kane team”, with Chelsea perhaps in danger of morphing into the “Cole Palmer team”, considering just how crucial he has become to the club’s recent fortunes.
Indeed, the Blues have lost three of the six games in which Palmer has failed to score in since the draw with the Cherries, having also only narrowly overcome Ruud van Nistelrooy’s Foxes last weekend.
It surely won’t be long, however, before the club’s number 20 comes good again, having already scored and assisted 60 goals in just 78 games for the west Londoners across all competitions.
Player
Goals
Frank Lampard
147
Didier Drogba
104
Eden Hazard
85
Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink
69
Gianfranco Zola
59
Eidur Gudjohnsen
54
Diego Costa
52
John Terry
41
Nicolas Anelka
38
Willian
37
As for his form in the Premier League, the fleet-footed star is also only just outside the top ten for Chelsea’s leading scorers in the competition to date, having scored 36 times already despite not even finishing his second season at the club.
It surely won’t be long before Palmer pushes himself ahead of the likes of Willian and Nicolas Anelka, once his drought is ended, while he may even have his sights set on reaching the levels of the likes of Eden Hazard, Didier Drogba and the great Frank Lampard, should he see out his current contract.
Tied down until 2033, the Englishman has ample time to cement himself as a true Chelsea great, with Todd Boehly and co having already reaped the rewards for their brave investment.
On a less obvious note, the ownership regime may have repeated that astute business with another key signing from last summer.
Chelsea's best signing since Palmer
It’s fair to say that the addition of Palmer – which came late in the day back in August 2023 – has been followed up by a mixed bag of signings since then, with last summer now looking like a real mess if recent form is anything to go by.
Market Movers
Indeed, Jadon Sancho – who is set to sign permanently this summer – has scored just twice this season, while £46.3m man Joao Felix has already been shipped out on loan to AC Milan.
Renato Veiga has also moved to Italy to join Juventus on loan, while ex-Barcelona teenager, Marc Guiu, has failed to score a Premier League goal and is now sidelined with injury.
Pedro Neto has shown flickers of late, although the Portuguese speedster has still only chalked up three league goals, while Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall has been branded “one of the most pointless signings of 2024” by writer Zach Lowy, amid his limited league action.
It could be argued that Boehly’s best signing since landing Palmer has actually been the free transfer capture of Tosin Adarabioyo, with the towering centre-back joining from Fulham following the expiry of his contract.
The oldest outfield player to line up for Chelsea this season, at the age of just 27, the former England youth international mirrors Palmer in having previously risen up through the ranks at Man City, before spending time on loan at West Bromwich Albion and Blackburn Rovers, prior to his move to Craven Cottage in 2020.
Lauded as a “special player” by Fulham boss Marco Silva, the experienced centre-back has cemented a regular role for himself alongside Levi Colwill in the absence of Wesley Fofana, having made 15 league appearances this season so far.
Already described as one of the “leaders” in the dressing room by manager Enzo Maresca, the 6 foot 5 titan looks like a real bargain for the Blues, not least considering his market value now stands at €20m (£17m), as per Transfermarkt.
As journalist Lloyd Canfield has only recently stated, the signing of Tosin looks to be an “excellent bit of business”, having shown the value in seeking out a bargain in the market, rather than always being forced into paying top dollar.
Tosin, it must be said, is the not most eye-catching, nor glamourous of talents to have walked in the door in recent times, but – with four goals under his belt already – the Englishman can be pleased with his early impact at Stamford Bridge.
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