Chelsea legend Gianfranco Zola says whether Cole Palmer has a better first touch than him

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The current young Chelsea fan will admire Cole Palmer in the same way that Blues supporters of a certain age used to love Gianfranco Zola.

There’s an incredible line throughout Chelsea’s history of mercurial talents representing the club. In the last few decades, the Blues fanbase has enjoyed watching individual geniuses such as Gianfranco Zola, Eden Hazard and Cole Palmer represent them.

In the current Chelsea squad, Palmer is certainly the star that gets the supporters off their seats with incredible pieces of skill and creativity. The left-footed attacking midfielder has been pulling the strings since his arrival at Stamford Bridge from Manchester City in the summer of 2023.

Enzo Maresca says Palmer is always first in Chelsea training with a football, which should come as no surprise.

• READ MORE: Gianfranco Zola names the one thing Chelsea’s Cole Palmer can improve in his game

The best first touch between Gianfranco Zola and Cole Palmer

During an interview via the Premier League’s official X account, Zola and Palmer were asked who’s got the better first touch between the pair of them.

Interestingly, Blues icon Zola immediately pointed towards current star Palmer.

Zole, who played at Chelsea between 1996 and 2003, is one of the most aesthetically pleasing players to ever grace the Premier League. In fact, Peter Crouch is a gigantic Zola admirer and puts the retired 58-year-old attacker in the conversation for the Premier League’s best player.

Meanwhile, at the age of 22, Palmer is still very much in the infancy of his senior career.

So far, he’s coping very well with the huge pressure on his young shoulders. He’s currently thriving as the Blues talisman in the No.10 position, where he knits everything together in the final third.

Palmer statistically ranks second for Premier League players in 2024 following an incredible calendar year. Can he finish it off with a purple patch during the upcoming festive schedule?

Cole Palmer not slowing down in second season

There were some that may have thought Palmer’s incredible debut season with Chelsea last year was a one-off, but that’s quickly been put to bed in the opening few months of this 2024/25 campaign.

Here is a look at the England international’s statistics in the Premier League so far this season:

Chelsea supporters are so fortunate that the club snapped him up from Man City last year because he’s the talisman of this new era.