Palmer's prowess may give Chelsea a shot at the title

There are moments in training when Chelsea teammates just start laughing at something outlandish that Cole Palmer has done, which isn't that unusual for a box-office Premier League star.

- MIGUEL DELANEY

What is a little more notable, though, is how that can occasionally immediately follow a bad miss.

Palmer doesn’t let any of it affect him, or temper his game. Those who would know have likened his approach to that of Luis Suarez. There’s no playing it safe to build up again. He just goes for it and tries things.

There may well end up another throwback to Suarez. Could Palmer be a rare player in the modern game to drive a title challenge almost through his own individual quality alone? That’s what Suarez did in 2013-14, elevating a good Liverpool team into something spectacular. Palmer himself is looking that good.

There’s an argument that nothing similar has really happened in the Premier League since Chelsea’s last title in 2016-17, when Diego Costa’s goals so often proved the difference. Eden Hazard and N’Golo Kante might have something to say about that, of course, as would all of Mohamed Salah, Kevin De Bruyne, Erling Haaland, Rodri, Sadio Mane and even Palmer’s own manager in Enzo Maresca.

None of this is to disrespect them, though. Liverpool and Manchester City’s title-winning teams were obviously as systemised as you could get, driven by generational managers, with their great stars perfectly complementing the teams. They were near-perfect units, which was reflected in those historic points returns.

Maresca’s Chelsea have admirably defied expectations with an immense season so far, but they’re not that. The Italian is famously a Guardiola disciple and is trying to instil a comparable system, although that is sort of the point. Chelsea are a young, developing side and Maresca has had to show some pragmatism.