Hupu reported on May 8 that Peter Rutzler, a London-based reporter for The Times, wrote a column about Cole Palmer.
This week, Paris Saint-Germain was called an epoch-making team. Such words were probably lingering in the ears of Chelsea's group of players who were not performing well. They were at the Cobham training base and watched helplessly as one season was about to be destroyed.
Last summer, compared with Paris Saint-Germain, Chelsea not only had equal strength, but also had the upper hand. This is not a matter of luck, nor is it an easy win in the preseason. In the Club World Cup, Chelsea completely defeated their opponents with a score of 3-0, fully demonstrating their absolute strength.
That victory has long since faded into the past, like a flash in the pan, however. This week's game will surely leave Chelsea players feeling extremely sorry for what happened in the following months. Paris Saint-Germain returned to the top of Europe and reached the Champions League final again, but Chelsea's hopes of returning to the Champions League came to nothing.
That Club World Cup victory showed what this team can achieve under the right leadership, and it also foreshadowed what potential they can have if the right players are brought in.
As far as Cole Palmer was concerned, that night in New Jersey was special. Among the many stars who took to the final stage at Metlife Stadium, he stood out and won a golden ball awarded by President Trump himself for his outstanding performance.
In the final, he added to the glory of that honor with a stunning, winning performance as Chelsea defeated the European champions.
Now, Palmer is an island in Chelsea's turbulent situation, his form declining as the World Cup approaches. Head coach Thomas Tuchel has to announce a 55-man provisional roster on Monday and finalize a maximum of 26 players before the end of the month. As a result, he obviously cannot be selected for the national team solely on his own strength.
His face was plastered on billboards across New York last summer, and everyone wanted a piece of Palmer's business, and last month he announced a commercial partnership with Coca-Cola that would use his trademarked name, celebratory gestures and signature.
He knows what fans are thinking and feeling, especially the younger generation, and Javier Mesa, Coca-Cola Europe's chief marketing officer, spoke with enthusiasm, highlighting Palmer's charisma and the volatility he might spark again in the North American market in the future.
However, will he continue to stay at No. 10? The level of competition is off the charts. Morgan Gibbs-White was in superb form, bursting onto the scene in the second half of the season and emerging at a turbulent season for Nottingham Forest, which has seen four managers change. In addition, there are Morgan Rogers, Jude Bellingham and Eberechi Eze.
Can England accommodate so many number 10s?
In 2026, Palmer's form cannot ensure that he will firmly enter the No. 10 position. He has only scored one goal in the previous 14 club and national team games. Monday's loss to Forest seems to mean that he is in a sluggish state recently. He missed a penalty kick. This was his second mistake among 20 penalty kicks.
This season has been quite difficult for him, and he has been able to rediscover his former glory at times, such as against Bayern Munich and scoring a hat-trick away at Wolves. However, in fact, the last time he showed dominance was back in the game against Paris Saint-Germain last summer, and even that game was extremely special.
Let’s first talk about the first 54 league games he played after joining Chelsea from Manchester City in September 2023, and then compare these first 54 league games with the next 54 games. The next 54 games are from January 1, 2025 until now. Then you will find an obvious decline. Before the beginning of 2025, he averaged 0.98 goals per game. The goals mentioned here include goals and assists, and he also scored 19 sports goals. Since then, his average number of goal participations per game is only 0.37, and his non-penalty goals are only 6.
The team is in trouble, which has had an impact on Palmer's performance. The days of tacit cooperation with Nicholas Jackson seem to have gone far away early. Jackson missed most of the second half of the 2024-25 season due to injury, and was also traded to Bayern Munich last summer. Frequent coaching changes and injuries stifled the team's good momentum.
The groin injury that persisted throughout was difficult to control and was a new experience for Palmer. He was looking forward to returning, but found that he couldn't shoot or pass the ball without pain. “I didn’t know how to deal with it,” he told the Guardian. Now he can play football freely, but he still missed 21 official games this season.
He has just turned 24, but this is the first time he has suffered such a serious injury. This may not be surprising. Since he joined Chelsea, he has never really enjoyed a full summer vacation. Before signing in 2023, he represented England in the U21 European Cup. The next year, he helped the England senior team reach the European Cup final. Last summer, his vacation was only three weeks.
However, he definitely doesn't want to spend another stress-free summer. Maybe Tuchel doesn't want this to happen either. Palmer is a player who can stand up bravely at critical moments. He can change the trend of the game in an instant and win the 2024 European Cup. He scored a goal for England just three minutes after coming on as a substitute in the final, in a brilliant way that, as he repeated in New Jersey, can turn the tide in the most important of matches.