Manchester United legend Paul Scholes fears Cole Palmer is operating in a comfort zone at Chelsea and needs a more challenging environment if he is to fulfil his potential.
The England international’s form has mirrored that of a side that find themselves in the midst of a dire run of results which culminated in Sunday’s limp 1-0 defeat at Arsenal.
Palmer missed the game as a consequence of a muscle injury and is likely to pull out of international duty having been named in Thomas Tuchel’s first England squad last week.
It is, perhaps, no surprise that Palmer has been unable to maintain the standards he set over the course of his first 18 months as a Chelsea player.
Having been deemed surplus to requirements by Manchester City, Palmer quickly established himself as one of the key components of Chelsea’s rebuilding project before impressing with the Three Lions at Euro 2024.
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Palmer started the current campaign in similarly outstanding form, but the weight of expectancy, allied to the number of minutes he has been asked to play, appears to have taken its toll on the 22-year-old in recent games.
However, speaking on the latest episode of The Overlap, ex-Manchester United and England midfielder Scholes argued that Palmer actually needs to be ‘challenged more’ – even if that means moving club.
According to Scholes, Chelsea in their current guise are not giving any sort of indication that they are ‘desperate’ to lift major trophies.
‘I’ve felt for a while that for Cole Palmer, it’s almost been too easy for him to play in that Chelsea team,’ Scholes said.
‘He knows he’ll play every week and be the best player. I think he needs challenging more, and I don’t get the impression that they [Chelsea] are desperate to win anything.’
Former Liverpool defender Jamie Carragher, meanwhile, believes he has seen clear signs of ‘frustration’ from Palmer this season and feels the Premier League Young Player of the Season should perhaps be considering his options.
‘I commentated on Brighton versus Chelsea in the league a month ago. I’m a big fan of Cole Palmer, and he played two passes early on, but the longer the game went on, you could see the frustration with his teammates,’ Carragher said.
‘It reminded me of Stevie [Gerrard] at Liverpool at times, because he was so much better than everyone else and he got frustrated.
‘Stevie was a local player, but he was never going to leave, whereas Cole Palmer isn’t.
‘This is when I go back to those eight-year contracts, and whether they are good for the club and players.
‘If you’re Cole Palmer, who’s got six or seven years left on his deal, and he should be playing for a team looking to win the Champions League, how does he get out?’
While the severity of Palmer’s muscle injury remains uncertain, Enzo Maresca is hopeful of having his star man back fit and available for Chelsea’s clash with Tottenham after the international break.
‘I don’t think so [that Palmer will be available for England] to be honest because his injury was from yesterday’s [Saturday’s] session,’ the Italian told reporters after Chelsea’s defeat to Arsenal.
‘I hope he can be back for our next game, but we need to wait for a scan.
‘We don’t wish players injury, but probably in Cole’s case in this moment it will give him some rest, physically and mentally, it could be good.’
