The midfielder left in search of regular first-team football. Cole experienced many highs at club level last season but the four-goal haul against Brighton could be the best moment of his career thus far.
Last season was a forgettable one for Chelsea but Cole Palmer was a ray of light. The start to this season has been more promising and the former Manchester City midfielder looks set to shine once again.
Premier League Top Goalscorer Market | Odds |
|---|---|
Cole Palmer Each Way (Top 3 Places) |
Odds courtesy of bet365. Correct at time of publishing and subject to change.
Palmer to Benefit From Improving Chelsea
Chelsea decided to part ways with Mauricio Pochettino in the summer and bring in Enzo Maresca. The Blues rallied towards the back end of last season to earn a place in the Europa Conference League after a slow start. However, they have been much quicker out of the starting blocks under Maresca.
The Blues are unbeaten in their five Premier League matches since losing 2-0 to Manchester City on the opening weekend. They have scored 15 goals in the league since that defeat. In fact, no team has outscored Maresca’s team in the league this season.
Under Pochettino, Chelsea scored an average of 2.03 goals per game in the Premier League. This figure climbed to 2.5 in the early stage of Maresca’s tenure. The young squad appears to be maturing with each game and Palmer looks set to have a formidable supporting cast.
Palmer’s Exceptional Rate of Scoring
Cole Palmer netted 22 goals in the Premier League last term, a tally only bettered by Erling Haaland. The Manchester City striker will take some beating once again, but there is definite value in backing Palmer to win the Golden Boot each way. Palmer’s four goals against Brighton moved him above Luis Diaz in the top scorer list. He has also registered four assists in the league, but goals are the focus here.
Palmer’s underlying stats over the 12 months also make for great reading. His non-penalty xG of 0.40 per 90 minutes played puts him in the 94th percentile of midfielders in this regard across Europe’s top five leagues. Cole has overperformed this metric by netting an average of 0.53 non-penalty goals per 90.
The Chelsea man is also lethal from the penalty spot. Palmer has netted 10 goals from the spot for the Blues. He is yet to miss a penalty in his career so he will continue to get the nod as the penalty taker.
Palmer has an xG of 0.64 per 90 minutes in the last 365 days. He averaged 80 minutes in the 33 Premier League games he played last season. If he avoids injury and plays an average 80 minutes for the remainder of the season, the xG suggests he will score a further 18 league goals, taking his tally to 24. This would have been enough to win the Golden Boot in three of the last five seasons and finish in the top three on the other two occasions.