Chelsea boss Mauricio Pochettino has a surprise leader in the shape of 21-year-old Cole Palmer. The attacking midfielder joined the Blues from Manchester City in the summer and has played a starring role in recent games, bagging four goals and two assists in his last five Premier League outings.
Chelsea shelled out a whopping £42.5million to prise Palmer away from the Etihad Stadium after the player told Citizens boss Pep Guardiola he wanted to leave. The young star had not been willing to wait around for the opportunities he desired in the north west and opted for a move to London instead.
Palmer has gone from boy to man in the capital and has already become a key figure in Pochettino’s team. The ace stepped up to dispatch a stoppage time penalty on Sunday as his team played out a thrilling 4-4 draw with his former employers. And he converted from the spot six days earlier as the Blues thumped Tottenham 4-1.
During the dying moments of Chelsea’s latest encounter, Palmer had to be pushed out of a Citizens team huddle by his former team-mate Erling Haaland after attempting to get an insight into what the away side were planning to do with their final set-piece. And the Manchester-born player even told a reporter last week that his older team-mate Nicolas Jackson needs to “keep his head down and work harder in training”.
Clearly, Palmer is not afraid to voice his opinions or take centre stage on the big occasions. But he has backed up that confidence by producing when it matters. And his ability to front up and lead should be regarded as nothing but a blessing for Pochettino.
The Chelsea manager named Reece James as his captain ahead of his maiden campaign at Stamford Bridge. The 23-year-old right-back has already racked up 153 appearances for the Blues and helped them win the Champions League in 2021 and the Club World Cup in 2022. But James has been hampered by a string of injury problems in recent years and has already missed seven Premier League games this season.
In fact, James has only started three top-flight matches since the campaign got underway after being ruled out with a hamstring issue. And Pochettino must be wondering if he will ever be able to rely on the defender to start regularly.
James is clearly an excellent captain on and off the pitch and certainly makes a big impact when available. But if Pochettino does have to go without the star again in the coming months, Palmer’s ability to be a leader will become even more invaluable. He’s certainly got the bark and the bite after all.
