Palmer leads Chelsea’s goalscoring and assist tallies in the Premier League, scoring 16 times and setting up his team-mates on nine occasions. He is one of the sole positives from another disappointing season, and Todd Boehly and co will be delighted that one signing from their £1billion-plus transfer outlay is exceeding expectations.
Malouda, who spent six years at Chelsea between 2007 and 2013, has been blown away with Palmer’s progress this season. The Frenchman has issued glowing praise of Palmer, claiming he is reminiscent of one of the world’s best footballers in Mbappe.
“I think that what Palmer has shown this season is the same ability that Mbappe showed when he first burst onto the scene at Monaco,” Malouda told Gambling Zone. “Cole is a little bit older than Kylian was when he broke through, but in terms of his decision-making, his calmness and his ability, he reminds me of Mbappe. That tells you everything about his potential and how far he could go.
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“Chelsea should be planning to build around Palmer for years to come. We haven’t had a player at Chelsea that the team should be built around in a long time. Every week, Palmer is so reliable. You know exactly what he will give you. I think that is the way forward and that Cole Palmer is the future of Chelsea.
“I’m also looking forward to seeing him perform in the national team because you can see he has this confidence in his own ability, he is ambitious, and he has his own style. He is a unique player.”
The majority of Chelsea’s transfer business in the past two years under Boehly and co has been heavily scrutinised, but just a few months into his time at Stamford Bridge, Palmer has already proven that he is worth the outlay.
The Blues will be delighted that they were able to prise him away from one of their Premier League rivals in Manchester City, though Malouda believes that Pep Guardiola’s outfit will not harbour too many regrets over Palmer’s exit.
“I don’t think that Pep Guardiola will have any regrets about letting Palmer leave the club,” he added. “As a manager, he has to have a balanced squad and team, and Palmer moving on has given a player like Oscar Bobb an opportunity this season. Would we have seen Cole Palmer putting in these types of performances for Manchester City if he had stayed? I don’t think so.”
