Cole Palmer is Chelsea’s top scorer and top creator this season (Photo: Getty)
Liverpool legend John Barnes has boldly suggested that Chelsea might actually be a better team without star player Cole Palmer.
For many, Palmer has been one of the few bright spots in an otherwise awful season for the Blues.
Since signing from Manchester City on deadline day last summer for £42.5million, he has scored 19 goals and made 13 assists in 37 appearances.
His efforts helped Chelsea reach the Carabao Cup final and have also got them to the FA Cup semi-finals where they’ll face holders City at Wembley on 20 April.
The attacking midfielder’s performances also earned Palmer his first England caps, and he will surely be a part of Gareth Southgate’s squad for Euro 2024.
Unfortunately, the 21-year-old’s efforts haven’t been enough to turnaround Chelsea’s form, with the club currently ninth in the Premier League, leaving Mauricio Pochettino’s future on the line.
Some have pondered that without Palmer, Chelsea would be in an even worse state, possibly fighting relegation, but Barnes believes it is entirely possibly that the team would be alright without him, citing the example of former Liverpool and Tottenham heroes.
Liverpool became one of the best teams in the world after selling their best player Philippe Coutinho in 2018 (Photo: Getty)
‘Well has anyone considered that if Cole Palmer wasn’t playing and someone else was, could Chelsea be better off? We don’t know,’ he told BonusCodeBets.
‘They could be higher up the league. It’s not a question of individual players where we say if he wasn’t playing Chelsea would be worse off because we just don’t know.
‘We do know he is playing well for Chelsea but remember when [Philippe] Coutinho was at Liverpool and he was their best player. Then Coutinho left and Liverpool became a better team.
Tottenham have hardly been affected by Harry Kane’s departure (Photo: Getty)
‘Look at Harry Kane when he left Tottenham. You could argue Tottenham are a better team without Harry Kane as good as Kane was.
‘We can’t say if Cole Palmer wasn’t there, Chelsea would be a worse team because they may have to play better as a collective team. However, Palmer is certainly having a great season at Chelsea.’
Liverpool sold attacking midfielder Coutinho to Barcelona in January 2018 which allowed their other forwards to thrive and, after using the funds to buy Virgil van Dijk and Alisson Becker, went onto win the Champions League and Premier League.
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Tottenham meanwhile have barely been affected by the sale of all-time top goalscorer Kane last summer, with the club looking very hopeful under Ange Postecoglou.
Palmer has only missed one game for Chelsea since signing – which they won – though they’ve only won two of the five games he hasn’t started.
For all their woes, Chelsea still have a chance to qualify for Europe but they must get back to winning ways, starting on Monday night against Everton.
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