Cole Palmer put in another strong performance for Chelsea on Monday night, racking up a goal and an assist in a 3-2 win over Newcastle.
Throughout a miserable season for the Blues, Palmer has been the one bright spark, scoring 13 goals after a summer move from Manchester City.
His performances have made him fairly immune from the barrage of criticism Mauricio Pochettino's side over the course of the campaign, with the manager failing to gel a host of expensive talent thrown together by Todd Boehly.
The likes of Enzo Fernandez and Moises Caicedo have shown their class at their previous clubs, so it's obvious that they have the potential to shine in the Premier League. However, they are just two players who appear to be weighed down by the massive fees Chelsea have paid for them.
Interesting comments to Cole Palmer from Tim Shearwood after the match on the quality of his teammates pic.twitter.com/NkOZySxm4T
— TheSecretScout (@TheSecretScout_) March 12, 2024
Cole Palmer bats away awkward Tim Sherwood question
This appears lost on former Premier League-winning captain Tim Sherwood, who put it to Palmer last night that there is no talent around him at Stamford Bridge at the moment.
"All you need is some players to play with," the ex-Blackburn skipper told Palmer in a post-match interview for Malaysian outlet Stadium Astro.
"I know you can't say that but I'm saying it, I just think you need more quality around you. For me, he [Pochettino] needs to build the team around you, with the quality you have, but that will come with a few transfer windows hopefully, once he gets the right players in."
Sherwood's words appeared to trail off as Palmer stared him down, clearly annoyed that at the blatant criticism of his teammates.
"There's a lot of quality there, not just me" responded the 21-year-old. "We've got loads of other players so hopefully, the team can gel a bit more and everyone will see."
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Cole Palmer defends Chelsea teammates
The interview ended at that point and it was an admirable response from the 21-year-old, but he shouldn't have had to defend his teammates after an improved performance in a 3-2 win at home.
While criticism of their play this season may be deserved, Palmer's reply pointed to frustration at the constant jibes about the character of the Chelsea team, after Gary Neville famously labelled them "blue billionaire bottle jobs" during the Carabao Cup final defeat to Liverpool last month.
Pundits appear to be enjoying kicking Chelsea while they're down, but the maturity Palmer showed in answering the question mirrored his owned displays this campaign, and it suggests that could emerge as the leader that this squad needs over the coming seasons.
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