Why Cole Palmer is an absolute genius on a football pitch

Chelsea’s attacking star attracts plenty of mirth for his interviews, but he often displays unrivalled intelligence in the heat of Premier League action

Anybody who’s been on the internet at any point in 2024 will have seen daft things regarding Cole Palmer. He’s got a genuine shout for being the world’s first Living Meme Footballer.

The assumptions that get made about him have been as predictable as they are misguided; the presence of eloquence is so often mistaken for intelligence, when under the harsh glare of a TV camera.

Unless Palmer suddenly starts cutting post-match interviews like Hulk Hogan pulling soliloquies out of King Lear, this is what the narrative around him is likely to be now. But watch him, even just for 90 minutes, and you’ll know it’s wrong.

Already, he’s demonstrated a unique understanding of how the game works, and showed his on-pitch intellect to be the equal of more accepted ‘scholars’ of the game. His rise, first through Mauricio Pochettino’s wild 4-3-3, now the control of Enzo Maresca’s 4-2-3-1, has arguably made him the most complete attacking mind in English football.

1 The ‘Right’ Brain