Pochettino in dreamland with new Chelsea signing labelled the next De Bruyne
One observer believes a surprise summer signing made by Chelsea will become “world class very soon” amid comparisons to Manchester City superstar Kevin De Bruyne.
The Blues have splashed out over a billion pounds on new recruits in the Todd Boehly era. The vast bulk of the signings were aged 25 or under when brought to the club. A sizeable chunk of those were teenagers.
As such, it’ll take time for Chelsea’s transfer policy to bear fruit. The Blues are content to absorb short-term pain if it leads to long-term gain.
However, one summer recruit who is making an instant impact at Stamford Bridge is Cole Palmer.
The 21-year-old cost a package totalling £42.5m (including add-ons) when plucked from Man City.
Palmer’s transfer came as a surprise to many, though the player’s desire for regular minutes was always going to lead him away from the Etihad.
Palmer’s versatility has allowed him to operate in a wide variety of attacking roles under Mauricio Pochettino. He’s counted attacking midfield, the right wing and false nine among the positions he’s played thus far.
Palmer has returned six goal contributions in just 603 minutes of action at Chelsea. In other words, he’s operating at just shy of a goal contribution per 90 minutes.
Now, when speaking to BBC Sport, former Chelsea and Scotland winger, Pat Nevin, compared Palmer to Kevin de Bruyne.
The Belgium ace is arguably the Premier League’s best midfielder and his passing range and playmaking abilities are second to none.
Palmer obviously has a long way to go to live up to that comparison, though Nevin claimed he’s already seen enough to believe Palmer will be “world class very soon”.
Palmer the new KDB? Nevin is convinced
“From their current league position to the long injury list, there is so much negativity surrounding Chelsea,” said Nevin.
“Add to that the lack of Champions League football for the foreseeable future – and the financial problems that this will bring.
“That is before you consider the frankly frightening run of upcoming matches in the Premier League. Don’t even mention the terrible atmosphere at Stamford Bridge.
“There are rays of hope, however. The brightest is Cole Palmer.
“I was wary of saying it out loud before but, watching him at the Bridge once again, I am convinced this lad could be world class very soon.
“He is the closest I have seen to a young Kevin de Bruyne for a very long time.”
READ MORE: ‘No chance’ – Chelsea legend John Terry admits he got Liverpool star completely wrong
