Captain, leader, crisis-fighter? Chelsea need out-of-form Cole Palmer now more than ever to save their season

Palmer's form for club and country is cause for concern. Over the March internationals, he did little to convince England boss Thomas Tuchel that he should be on the plane to the World Cup with underwhelming showings against Uruguay and Japan. These two performances were an extension of his recent displays with Chelsea.

After scoring a hat-trick away at Wolves on February 7, Palmer has provided only two goals and one assist in 11 matches since, while his last contribution at all - Chelsea's third goal in a 4-1 win over Aston Villa - was eight games ago. Maybe what's most worrying is he has barely come close to breaking that duck.

Chelsea destroyed League One side Port Vale 7-0 in their FA Cup quarter-final last Saturday, but Palmer was not on the scoresheet, nor did he provide an assist for any of his team-mates. He was involved in the third goal, though it was nothing to particularly shout about, as Malo Gusto's fierce shot was palmed away by goalkeeper Joe Gauci, and Palmer had an effectively empty net to tap into from about six yards out. His instinctive shot was skewed and heading wide until it was deflected back in the reverse direction by Port Vale defender Jordan Lawrence-Gabriel, going down as an own goal.

There has been a worrying drop-off in the Premier League in particular with Palmer. Since scoring the 14th goal of his 2024-25 campaign on January 14, 2025, he has found the net 10 times, though six of those were penalties.

This was always going to be a testing season for Chelsea. The miles put on the squad's bodies from last summer's Club World Cup, with the prospect of the international edition coming at the end of 2025-26, meant key players risked being run into the ground. The football calendar already needed trimming before FIFA added this new tournament to the schedule.

Palmer played 52 games and clocked 4,247 minutes during a gruelling if successful 2024-25. He had only ever missed four games for Chelsea due to injury heading into this season, yet it's no surprise his body has broken down and he has been forced to sit out 25 for the Blues and England this term. It's not as if Palmer has ever been a player to rely upon his pace, but he is notably a more impressive player in transition than when facing a settled defence, and he seems to be a touch slower or more hesitant.

Speaking to club media after the Port Vale triumph, Palmer let slip about just how debilitating the injury problems affecting the lower half of his body have been of late: "I feel good, feel like I've turned a corner, I can finally shoot again and do everything now, so just about kicking on and performing."

On the one hand, it's ridiculous that Palmer has had to soldier on through such pain, but if he is telling the truth about how he feels now, at least better performances should be in the post.

For the first time in his career, Palmer was named captain for the Port Vale victory. "Good, it was a long time coming, but finally!" he laughed. "It was a proud moment being captain and enjoyed it."

Head coach Liam Rosenior elaborated on the decision to give the armband to Palmer: "I think it's a natural step for Cole where he is in his career. He shows leadership. You have different types of leadership. You have players who talk, who organise.

"What Cole does and where he leads is he's so brave and he'll take the ball on the pitch. And if he makes a mistake, he'll take the ball and be positive again. That reflects what I want in this team. I felt Cole led the team magnificently in the game today."

With Enzo Fernandez suspended by Chelsea for comments made regarding a potential transfer to Real Madrid, Palmer could be named captain again versus more intimidating opposition in former club Manchester City on Sunday. Fernandez's sanction speaks to the makeup of the Stamford Bridge dressing room right now and how they are in dire need of some characters to bring the team together.

Rosenior suggested that Palmer isn't necessarily a leader by force, rather through how he acts. Given his form, however, this is only another reason to have doubts over his suitability for the role. Palmer doesn't rank in the top five for Chelsea's best performers this season, and he may even struggle to fit in a list of the top 10.

What he does have going for him is he remains the centre of attention. Whatever he does, for better or worse, is under scrutiny. It's not as if Palmer is some unproven gem trying to make a name for himself. The world knows his quality and now it is about rising to the occasion again, showing who you really are in the face of adversity.

To find his best self again, Palmer will need the support of his team-mates, but it's been difficult to build a rapport with other attackers this year. Chelsea's ever-changing cast of starters, plus the change in the dugout, where Rosenior replaced the popular Enzo Maresca, has had a negative impact on chemistry.

The Sun recently reported that Palmer has missed playing with the exiled Nicolas Jackson, who joined Chelsea the same summer as him but was sent out on loan to Bayern Munich this season. Jackson was a traditional No.9 and made for the perfect partner, but that same relationship has not yet blossomed with Joao Pedro following his arrival from Brighton.

There are reasons to believe that the only thing missing between Palmer and Pedro is time spent together on a pitch, rather than any suggestion they are incompatible as players. Palmer has, concerningly, only laid on three assists this season, but all of them were for Pedro during his rich vein of form immediately after Rosenior's appointment.

Another Brazilian enjoying his debut season at Chelsea is teenage sensation Estevao Willian, who should be afforded a run of starts to bring the best out of himself, as well as Palmer. These three players have by far the most potential of the club's many forwards and must be the cornerstones of Rosenior's attack. The more minutes they play together, the better they will become.

Chelsea face a daunting end to 2025-26 with a run-in that could turn ugly very quickly, starting with Sunday's visit of City. Pep Guardiola's side have reignited their hopes of catching Arsenal in the title race despite dropping points the last time they played a Premier League game, since beating the Gunners in the Carabao Cup final and destroying Liverpool in the FA Cup. Chelsea could very well meet them in the final of the latter.

After City, Chelsea then welcome Manchester United to Stamford Bridge, with build-up likely to be dominated by the Red Devils' supposed interest in Palmer. It could thus become another week in which the Blues try and shut down a PR nightmare.

Rosenior's men still have trips to Liverpool and Sunderland to navigate, while they face relegation candidates Nottingham Forest and bitter enemies Tottenham before the season is out. It's already an uphill battle for Chelsea to qualify for the Champions League as is, but their schedule is more gruelling than their rivals' to really up the ante.

Missing out on Europe's top club competition could cost Chelsea millions and would only intensify talk of their star players jumping ship. The long arm of PSR laws have already knocked on their door, and this time there aren't any workarounds besides selling their most expensive assets. The first team powers the club, and right now it's in disarray.

Palmer faces the tricky task of trying to find his shooting boots while fighting off more injuries and doing enough to convince England manager Tuchel he is worthy of a place at the World Cup. He and Chelsea could really do with him turning back into the player that became so feared on his ascent to stardom.