With Cole Palmer, Chelsea got it right. Accustomed to spending big, Blues They have made signing mistakes in recent years. But they did not regret the €47 million invested to sign the Manchester City player in 2023. During his first season at Stamford Bridge, the England international shone in the 45 games he played. In fact, he scored 25 goals and gave 15 assists, which almost made the Sky Blues They will regret letting him go.
The following season, he lived up to expectations, without any pressure. He finished the 2024-25 season with 15 goals and 11 assists in 42 games in all competitions. Ranked eighth in the last Ballon d’Or ceremony, Palmer has been plagued by injuries. After missing just one game in his first year with the London club (a cold, four days out and a missed game), he spent more time in the recovery room last year.
In fact, he was out twice. The first time, he suffered muscle fatigue, which forced him to miss six days (one game lost). Then a hamstring injury kept him off the field for 20 days, forcing him to miss four games. This season, Palmer appears to have become a regular in the recovery room. It all started with a groin strain in August, which forced him to miss 22 days and miss two games. Then, he suffered a relapse in September. He was out for 60 days (missing 12 games) until mid-November. Shortly after, he suffered a broken toe (10 days, missing 2 games).
Another trend
Just when he thought he had recovered from his injury problems, the 23-year-old suffered a thigh problem in early January. He missed 8 days of competition (2 games). Yesterday he was not available for the Champions League match against Pafos. His coach, Liam Rosenior, reported: “As a precautionary measure, he felt something slight during the game against Brentford. In fact, it was quite early in the game, so congratulations to him for holding on. But I don’t want to take any chances with my players at the moment, especially with players of Cole’s caliber. He has a good chance of being available and starting on Sunday against Crystal Palace. We will continue to prepare him accordingly.”.
After five absences due to injuries this season, he has already missed 19 games and 101 days of competition. Therefore, he has only participated in 13 games this season, 10 of them as a starter. Statistically, he has scored 5 goals (0 assists). Chelsea hope he regains his fitness. But that’s not all. In England, several media outlets report that he is not happy in London and would like to return to his home, Manchester. This has not gone unnoticed by Manchester United, which is closely following the situation of the former City player, according to the Daily Express. His salary would not be a problem for the Red Devils. It remains to be seen what the player himself thinks.
