Cole Palmer has been one of Chelsea’s most impactful players of the 2024/25 Premier League season so far.
He has been involved in most of the Blues’ wins and crucial actions, leading the team to hold the second spot with 28 points at the moment, seven points away from Liverpool.
With eight wins, four draws, and two losses, Chelsea is actually having a very positive first half of the season.
They are challenging seriously for the top four spots and, given their current results and run of form, could challenge for the title as well.
Palmer played a significant role in helping Chelsea achieve these results.
He is expected to continue providing assists and scoring important goals for the team that bought him from Manchester City for a £42.5m fee.
Prior to that, Palmer started his footballing career at Manchester City at the age of 10 within the team’s youth sector before joining the senior team in 2020 and gaining a lot of experience with the Citizens until 2023, when he had the opportunity to join the Blues and get more playing time.
In this tactical analysis and scout report on the 22-year-old English international, we will shed light on his attacking and playmaking abilities while analysing Enzo Maresca’s coaching impact on Palmer and how he developed his roles and strengths.
The analysis will, therefore, explore Palmer’s roles and importance within Chelsea’s tactics by focusing on significant examples and statistics.
Cole Palmer’s New Position & Roles
Following his usage as a right winger for most of the time at Chelsea last season and the start of being used as an advanced playmaker only in the last games of the 2023/24 season, Cole Palmer’s style of play has developed significantly under the management of the new head coach, Enzo Maresca, as the Italian head coach started using him extensively in this position.
Whether in the usual 4-2-3-1 or formations requiring two attacking midfielders, Maresca found the most suitable position for the English international and started using him consistently as a proper number 10 at a time when advanced playmakers are becoming rare.
Originally a right winger who played as an inverted winger in his best position, Maresca preferred to use him as an advanced playmaker.
He immediately noticed that Palmer had everything needed to succeed in that role.
Given that Palmer masters shooting from distance, running into space to propose passing solutions, providing key passes, applying high pressure on opponents, and retreating to intercept passes or win defensive duels, Maresca opted to preserve the 4-2-3-1 formation for most of the games, with Palmer becoming a confirmed attacking midfielder in his line-up.
Moreover, with the development of set-piece taking and further development of shooting abilities, especially with shots from distance, Palmer has become a reliable attacking weapon for the Italian head coach.
We saw Palmer score numerous crucial goals in the latest period, confirming his continuous development as an attacker.
As we look at this pizza map of Palmer, we can immediately notice his remarkable goal contribution rates, whether through assist-making or finishing, which highlights the player’s attacking impact at Chelsea.
Also, with 78.3% dangerous passes per game, it becomes easier for the whole team to find goalscoring solutions, as Palmer’s quick dribbles and smart passes make finishing less complicated for striker Nicolas Jackson or the two wingers.
Another very important yet not very noticed trait that Palmer succeeded in developing, especially this season, is his ability to win defensive duels and retreat to help his teammates in an impactful way.
With 71.9% of defensive duels won on average, Palmer surely contributes a lot to Chelsea’s out-of-possession phase being quite successful and disturbing to opponents.
He often uses his pace and height to intercept passes between the lines and challenge efficiently when put in defensive duel situations.
Cole Palmer’s Pizza Map
Cole Palmer’s Goalscoring Traits & Set-Piece Taking
With 45.5% shots on target and 2.96 aimed shots on goal overall, Palmer does not shoot much on goal per game, yet he makes sure the shots he attempts hit the net or cause significant danger to the opponents.
His shooting power, accuracy, and frequency have developed significantly this season, particularly as he started scoring crucial goals from distance, such as his latest goal against Aston Villa.
In this goal action, Palmer positioned himself perfectly to receive the ball in a suitable shooting spot.
He then got the ball and dribbled quickly past his direct opponent to pave the way for himself to shoot.
Then, he could keep his balance and put the necessary impact on the ball to curve it perfectly and score a beautiful goal despite the three players disturbing him and making it nearly impossible to opt for a different shooting trajectory.
Cole Palmer’s Goal Against Aston Villa
In addition to shooting from long distances and after cutting inside from the right wing, Palmer can be extremely dangerous when he advances with the ball in open space.
He exploits his pace to surpass opponents before finishing well.
Under Maresca, we saw Palmer attempt this type of central penetration with the ball so often, and he started to become increasingly successful when attempting such actions.
The goal recently scored against Newcastle highlights this trait.
What is also remarkable about this goal is that Palmer was capable of scoring from a difficult angle, relying on power and accuracy instead of curved shots, which adds to his ability to diversify his shots while remaining clinical.
Nevertheless, attempting such shots and penetrations more often would make Palmer an even more crucial player for Chelsea, as it seems that he still lacks conviction and confidence in his ability to successfully complete such actions.
Cole Palmer’s Goal Vs Newcastle
Among the new techniques that Palmer has developed even further following Marseca’s arrival are intelligent movements without the ball inside the final third to create space for himself and passing options for his teammates.
His movements without the ball in that area have often been very useful and provided key solutions upfront.
One excellent example that highlights his ability to create dangerous goalscoring opportunities is his movement towards the back of the defensive line while asking for the ball with excellent timing.
This movement without the ball created a goalscoring opportunity for Palmer, who successfully finished the action, proving that he can score goals from difficult angles without issues.
Cole Palmer’s Goal Vs Brighton & Hove Albion
Palmer has also been improving his set-piece taking skills lately.
In that same match against Brighton & Hove Albion, he scored a direct free-kick and proved that he can become a reliable set-piece taker for Chelsea and, why not, for England, too.
Cole Palmer Playmaking & Defensive Work
In terms of playmaking, we can argue that Palmer is a very dangerous passer, especially when he succeeds in dribbling past his direct markers.
He can also make excellent passes from both wings and uses his passing techniques whenever necessary to serve his teammates.
In the following example, he gives an assist using the exterior part of his foot to be first on the ball, ensuring that his teammate gets the pass in the needed spot to score.
Cole Palmer’s Assist Vs Crystal Palace
Palmer’s efficiency is not just limited to shooting or playmaking but also excellent positioning and anticipation of the opponent’s actions and passes in their own half.
In this regard, Palmer is fundamental to both Chelsea and England as he often intercepts passes and creates a lot of danger by launching counterattacks that hurt opponents.
The following interception shows Palmer’s attention to the opponents’ passes and his ability to anticipate them, thanks to his reactivity and pace.
Cole Palmer’s Interception
In addition to interceptions, it is important to know that Palmer does not hesitate to attempt sliding tackles when necessary.
This makes him more impactful and useful for the team in the non-possession phase, as he is usually aggressive when pressing and trying to get the ball as quickly as possible.
Cole Palmer’s Sliding Tackles
In fact, Palmer is the first player who presses high on the opposing defences alongside Nicolas Jackson.
Palmer can disturb the opponents even more than Jackson since Palmer is quicker and has the ability to anticipate the defenders’ passes in a more remarkable and efficient manner.
This makes him extremely important in Chelsea’s pressing system.
Cole Palmer’s Pressing
Conclusion
Cole Palmer is on his way to becoming one of the most important English wingers and playmakers.
He is progressively showing many signs of development on all levels.
Whether in terms of goalscoring, playmaking, set-piece taking or high pressing, Palmer is excelling in all of these aspects, and that’s why he is helping Chelsea in an exceptional way in this first part of the season.
Nevertheless, he is yet to become the star who can drive the whole team forward or lead them to achieve something important.
Consistency, confidence and a strong personality combined with recurrent outstanding performances will be needed for him to become an even more complete playmaker for both Chelsea and England.
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