Why Chelsea goal-machine Cole Palmer is more than just a penalty merchant

If you haven’t been watching Chelsea much and have merely made your assumptions via infographics, you may believe that Cole Palmer is nothing more than an over-hyped Englishman who’s been held up by converting penalties. 

Indeed, of the 20 goals he's scored in the Premier League, nine have come from the spot, the most of any player, and four more than Bukayo Saka in second place. But the youngster is so much more than just putting away penalties. 

Palmer was born in Wythenshawe, Manchester, the same part of the city as Marcus Rashford. 

He joined the Cityzens at the under-eight level and progressed through the academy age groups before captaining the under-18s during the 2019/20 season.  

He made his first-team debut in the 2020/21 campaign but it took another couple of seasons to finally break through and earn relatively regular game-time under Pep Guardiola. 

But his 14 Premier League outings last term were not enough for Palmer, who believed he was worth more. He duly signed for Chelsea last summer for a reported €46m. 

Eyebrows were raised at the timem not least because of Chelsea’s knack for overpaying for footballers who lack the maturity to properly give the side a lift, but Palmer has been worth every penny - and more. 

It’s become apparent that his move to Stamford Bridge was arguably the best piece of business that any Premier League side has done all season.  

Cole Palmer’s Transfer Value - how much is he worth?  

Palmer has an Estimated Transfer Value of (ETV) of €33.1m. It may seem a low amount but this is a young player who has only this year become something of a sensation and one of the best in Europe's top five leagues. 

When Chelsea signed Palmer during the winter window, the Football Transers algorithm had his value at €16M, so it’s more than doubled in less than a year. 

Cole Palmer’s strengths and weaknesses - what does the data say?   

Palmer certainly possesses an eye for goal and can find the net in a variety of ways. This was exemplified when he scored the perfect hat-trick against Everton earlier this week, while he found a goal from the spot, too. 

Palmer is an electric player. As soon as he finds the ball at his feet he is immediately looking for space either to run into, or thread through passes. 

The 21-year-old can play either down the middle as a No.10 or on the right-side. Though you’d be right to believe Gareth Southgate will start Saka on that flank during the upcoming Euros, there is a solid case to be made that Palmer should replace James Maddison in the middle. 

As WhoScored point out, his statsistically calculated strengths include ‘finishing’, ‘holding onto the ball’, ‘long shots’, and ‘key passes’, of which he is averaging 2.2 per 90 minutes. 

Palmer manages to get off a high volume of shots, too. Remarkably, Palmer averages 3.5 shots per 90 minutes, despite not playing as a striker, with 1.6 of those shots coming from outside the box. Naturally, unlike someone like Darwin Nunez who has a low conversion rate, Palmer is finding himself on the scoresheet from his efforts.

This article was provided by FootballTransfers