Former Chelsea defender Jason Cundy believes Cole Palmer is turning out to be the player the Blues expected Kai Havertz to be.
Cole Palmer impressed in Chelsea’s 4-1 win against Burnley yesterday, scoring and assisting in the game, and Cundy called into talkSPORT to praise the attacking midfielder.
Palmer arrived at Stamford Bridge from Manchester City over the summer in an initial £40m deal. After selling Havertz and Mason Mount, it was quite a necessary signing, with their departures leaving the Blues a bit short in the No.10 position.
While Havertz is an attacking midfielder, the German spent a lot of his career at Stamford Bridge playing up front, where he really struggled at times.
Last season, Havertz only managed to score seven goals in 35 Premier League appearances.
Jason Cundy thinks Cole Palmer is a class act
Cundy is impressed with what he is seeing from Palmer right now and says the 21-year-old is succeeding where Havertz failed.
Speaking after Chelsea’s victory over Burnley, he said: “Cole Palmer is turning out to be the player that we hoped Kai Havertz would be. He’s in a slightly different position, but he’s the player that we hoped Havertz would turn into and he looks like a class act.”
Cole Palmer yet to match Kai Havertz’s impact
It is still very early days for Palmer at Chelsea. And while Havertz did have his struggles during his time in west London, let us not be quick to forget that he did deliver in some huge games under Thomas Tuchel and Graham Potter.
The Germany international, of course, scored the winner against Palmer’s former side City in the 2021 Champions League final, handing the Blues the trophy.
In the same competition, he has also netted in clashes versus Real Madrid and Borussia Dortmund.
On an individual level, it has been a positive start for Palmer at Chelsea. But like a lot of their signings, the jury is still out.
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