Chelsea facing major Cole Palmer problem that next head coach simply can’t ignore
The next Chelsea manager will be tasked with revitalising Cole Palmer, who has looked a shadow of his former self for almost a year.
The 23-year-old midfielder, whom the Blues signed from Manchester City for £40m on deadline day in September 2023, hasn’t quite been the same since he experienced his first period of adversity at the very highest level. At the start of last year, Palmer tarnished what was set to be another excellent Premier League campaign with a goal drought that lasted nearly four months.
In December 2024, the England international had fired Chelsea to second place in the English top-flight, scoring 11 goals and providing six assists in just 16 games. The west Londoners had emerged as early contenders for the title, with Palmer leading the charge.
The cracks began to show during the festive period, and Chelsea went five games without a win, falling 10 points behind Liverpool and dropping to fifth in the table. Despite some poor results, the playmaker was still at the heart of the action, adding three more goals to his tally.
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Palmer didn’t find the net in the Premier League again until May 2025, by which time the Blues had been dragged into a race for UEFA Champions League qualification. The Englishman struck a vein of form just in time for the business end of the campaign.
Palmer helped Chelsea finish fourth in the English top-flight, as well as win the UEFA Conference League and the Club World Cup. He appeared to have turned over a new leaf, overcoming what was the first hiccup of his senior career.
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Palmer had obviously burst onto the scene the season prior under Mauricio Pochettino, scoring 25 goals and providing 15 assists in 45 games across all competitions. Under the former Blues boss, the midfielder also created 2.29 chances and completed 1.75 dribbles per 90 minutes.
Although Palmer wasn’t as productive in the final third the following season, with Maresca in the dugout, scoring 18 goals and providing 13 assists across all competitions, he remained just as effective in possession, creating 2.31 chances and completing 1.53 dribbles per 90 minutes.
Having fired Chelsea to an incredible victory over Paris Saint-Germain in the Club World Cup final, many expected Palmer to relish the opportunity to become one of the best players in the world. But then, in the build-up to just the second game of the new Premier League campaign, he suffered a groin problem – the first big injury of his career.
Despite the nature of the issue and having had little to no time to recharge his batteries over the summer, Palmer was rushed back from the treatment room and aggravated the injury a week later. He spent the next two months or so on the sidelines before reappearing in December.
Between Maresca and Liam Rosenior, Palmer was carefully reintegrated into the starting lineup, but he never seemed to find his feet. The midfielder showed flashes of brilliance, as any top player would, but he lost his spark.
In March, Palmer reflected on a frustrating spell on the sidelines earlier in the campaign. In an interview with the club website after finding the net in a 4-1 win over Aston Villa, he claimed to have since ‘turned a corner’.
But Palmer hasn’t performed at the same level, nor have Chelsea won a game, let alone a point, since. Despite the midfielder looking a shadow of his former self, Calum McFarlane disagreed with ‘the narrative that he isn’t playing well’ ahead of last weekend’s defeat to Nottingham Forest.
Although the interim Blues boss will have felt obliged to protect his player, the vote of confidence backfired when Palmer failed to return the favour. Up until the final minutes of stoppage time, the midfielder was nowhere to be seen.
Ultimately, Palmer has only scored 10 goals and provided three assists in 30 games across all competitions this term, while creating just 1.38 chances and completing 0.99 dribbles per 90 minutes. Injured or not, the midfielder has fallen short of expectation for well over a year now.
Next season, Palmer will be under pressure to prove his worth. Meanwhile, the next Chelsea boss will be tasked with freeing the midfielder from the shackles of whatever is holding him back…
