Cole Palmer challenge set after becoming heir to Gianfranco Zola & Eden Hazard at Chelsea – with England star integral to £1 billion project

The Blues have always prided themselves on boasting match-winners within their ranks, with creativity crucial to the manner in which they want to play the game. Italian superstar Zola and Belgian maestro Hazard became fan favourites when dazzling Premier League audiences at Stamford Bridge.

Palmer – who moved to west London from Manchester City in 2023 – has taken on that role in the current generation. He plundered 25 goals in his debut campaign at Chelsea, earning him the PFA Young Player of the Year prize, and is expected to unlock further potential at 22 years of age.

Gus Poyet says Palmer will need to improve as he is no longer a surprise package, with the Blues legend – speaking in association with William Hill – telling GOAL when asked if Palmer is ready to follow in the footsteps of Zola and Hazard: “Yes, but now everybody knows and they are going to mark him differently. Last year was a big impact. Now when he goes on the pitch, the opposition have already worked on him so he’s going to need to find other ways to keep improving. He’s young and he needs the team to play so he can become better. But, yes, definitely he’s important.”

Palmer has formed part of several elaborate spending sprees by Chelsea, with huge money being invested by the club’s Todd Boehly-led board. Little return has been seen on that investment as yet, with Poyet saying when asked if a young squad will deliver on expectations in time: “It is a long-term project but it’s Chelsea. I live close to Chelsea fans everyday and I know what it used to be, what we were in the 90s. When I joined Chelsea they had won the FA Cup the year before and as soon as I was there, we said ‘we need to win something’. And the next year we need to win something – it’s a cup, the Community Shield, it’s whatever you want but you need to win something.

“It went even higher when they started winning Premier Leagues and the Champions League. The fans, they got used to that. There is a new process, but you need to win. I think there is improvement and sometimes you need that bit of luck. But they need to put things right now before they start the European competitions. I’m pretty confident because the team looks more settled and you know more or less what it’s going to be – the starting XI – which is important.”

Enzo Maresca is now calling the shots, following more movement in the dugout, and will see Chelsea open their 2024-25 Europa Conference League campaign at home to Gent on October 3. Prior to that they have Premier League meetings with West Ham and Brighton to take in, along with a Carabao Cup third round clash with League Two minnows Barrow.