Chelsea’s first-team star received special recognition this week for his incredible performances at Stamford Bridge in the last year.
Chelsea have been such a turbulent club in recent times, especially since the change of ownership two years ago, but some individuals are still shining bright in West London.
It’s pretty evident that Blues attacker Cole Palmer, 22, has been the club’s saving grace in the last 12 months. Therefore, it’s no surprise that the England international was successful at this week’s Professional Footballers’ Association awards.
Palmer was named the PFA Young Player of the Year, following in the footsteps of former Chelsea great Eden Hazard. It was throughly deserved after he managed 22 goals and 11 assists in the Premier League last season in an inconsistent team.
Admittedly, Chelsea fans fumed at Palmer’s omission from the Team of the Year, with zero Chelsea players named in the PFA Premier League Team of the Year.
Declan Rice and Ian Maatsen react to Cole Palmer news
Palmer celebrated his individual prize at the PFA awards with an Instagram post, which received some great responses in the comment section.
First of all, Arsenal and England midfielder Declan Rice, who was included in the Team of the Year, congratulated his international teammate. Aston Villa’s Ian Maatsen, who was sold by Chelsea this summer, also responded in emoji form.
‘Outstanding’ Cole Palmer is just getting started
Palmer’s debut year at Chelsea was simply incredible and one that goes down very highly in the club’s history. Remarkably, the 22-year-old playmaker rocked up as a Manchester City fringe player and emerged as the talisman at Stamford Bridge.
Speaking recently via BBC podcast Planet Premier League, Cesc Fabregas admitted “outstanding” Palmer shocked him last season. The same goes for almost everyone in the football community, too.
Now, all eyes will be on the youngster to see if he can replicate the same kind of success in his second year.
On paper, Chelsea’s starting line-up may look stronger this time around. That’s surely going to help Palmer in the long run with better players around him, albeit it may take time to gel under new head coach Enzo Maresca.
Let’s hope Palmer can mirror former winners of the PFA’s Young Player of the Year award such as Fabregas, Hazard, Wayne Rooney, Gareth Bale and Cristiano Ronaldo.
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