As far as debut seasons go for Chelsea, they don’t come much more impressive than Cole Palmer’s.
The 22-year-old sits on 21 Premier League goals this season, a hugely impressive number considering the pretty average campaign for the club as a whole.
They currently sit seventh in the table, pretty much as high as they have been all season, although still reportedly not high enough for the club’s owners as far as guaranteeing a job next season for Mauricio Pochettino.
This is certainly no fault of Palmer’s, who has rivalled the likes of Erling Haaland for numbers in his first real season as a regular for a big side.
Palmer wins big at Chelsea awards night
His accolades were noticed amongst his teammates last night when he was awarded the player’s player of the year award to go alongside the club player of the year award at the yearly ceremony.
Doing the double puts him in elite company, with the club stating on their website only select other players have done this before.
One of those who has is Eden Hazard, who many Chelsea fans will state has been their best player of the last decade or so.
Palmer matches Hazard in winning two awards
The Belgian had individual campaigns where he at times carried Chelsea to Premier League titles, so the standard is certainly set at a high level.
However, with there now being a real optimism that European football will be back at Stamford Bridge next season, steps are clearly being taken in the right direction as far as the current project goes.
It has already been reported that the club see Palmer as the face of that very project, as appose to academy graduate and club captain Reece James.
At this stage it remains to be seen whether the England international will be given the opportunity to make an impression at the upcoming European Championships, with him certain now to be part of the squad.