Chelsea star Cole Palmer has not done much wrong at the Blues since joining from Manchester City last summer.
He was at his best once again in Chelsea‘s 2-2 draw with Burnley at Stamford Bridge over the weekend.
It was Cole Palmer who scored his side’s two goals, his 12th and 13th in the Premier League this season.
In total, the 21-year-old has come up with 21 goal contributions in the English top flight. Mauricio Pochettino sees him as Chelsea’s best player.
Even so, ESPN pundit Steve Nicol has an issue with an area of his game.
Steve Nicol’s problem with Cole Palmer
Like Pochettino, Nicol also thinks Palmer is Chelsea’s best player right now.
With the Englishman performing so well and the rest of the team struggling, that is probably the general consensus.
However, Nicol actually wants to see more from Palmer, feeling that the former City man drifts in and out of games too much.
Speaking about him on ESPN, the Liverpool legend said: “I’m saying without Cole Palmer this team’s got nothing. Cole Palmer still doesn’t know how to play 90 minutes because he still drifts in and out of the game. Today [Saturday], for the first 15 minutes, he was fantastic, he was getting on the ball, he had a lot of shots — some of them he shouldn’t have taken — but then he disappears.
“He disappears and then he reappeared with about 15 minutes to go in the second half. And when he reappears, all of a sudden, Chelsea change. So even the best player they have, still hasn’t figured out how to play 90 minutes yet because he’s so young and inexperienced.”
Does Cole Palmer drift in and out of games too often?
Playing out wide, it is only normal for there to be moments during matches where Palmer is a bit quiet.
But honestly, it does not feel like that that has been the case too often this term despite Nicol’s assessment. This is someone who has racked up almost 30 goal contributions in all competitions after all.
And as a player who is still only 21, there is nothing wrong with Palmer being a bit inconsistent, which he definitely has not been this season.
All in all, the England international has had a really impressive campaign. He joins Eden Hazard, Diego Costa, Cesc Fabregas and Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink as one of only five Chelsea players to record 20 goal contributions in their debut Premier League season.