Cole Palmer has ‘done more than Gianfranco Zola’ at Chelsea but won’t help them win title

Jamie Carragher believes Cole Palmer is on track to become one of Chelsea’s greatest ever players, especially if he can help them to win a Premier League title…but doesn’t think that’s going to happen this season.

Palmer was hugely influential again as Chelsea came back from two goals down to beat Tottenham Hotspur 4-3, scoring a pair of penalties – one of which he won himself – and setting up Enzo Fernandez to score in a ridiculous and scintillating London derby.

Carragher told Sky Sports after the game: “[Palmer scores] the penalties and he’s involved in the Fernandez goal as well where there’s three or four players round him. That’s what great players do: you fear when he’s on the ball.

“I loved him last season, he’s started this season really well, and I think I made a comment a few weeks ago that if you look at his almost 18 months at Chelsea, I don’t think there’s been a player in the Premier League who’s performed better than him over these 18 months – and he hasn’t been playing for the best team; I mean, they look like one of the best teams in the league right now.

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“But when you think of of Chelsea over the years and the great players they’ve had, had some great attacking players. But when you think of those flair players, I think of Zola and Hazard…I think he’s probably done more than Zola in his 18 months that he’s done.

“Zola’s probably going to go down as one of the greatest players to ever play for Chelsea, and he’s probably on the same sort of level as what I’ve seen Hazard do, [albeit] over a longer period of time.

“But right now I think the way he’s going, if he can take Chelsea to a title, whether it’s this season or the next two or three seasons, he’s going to go down as one of the greatest players to ever play for Chelsea if he keeps doing what he’s doing.

“He is a very, very special player, not just in the Premier League – in European or World Football.”

However, Carragher doubts whether this will be the year for Chelsea, adding: “[Their title challenge] is real, because they’re there. I think the big advantage for them is the fact they’re not playing Champions League, so Enzo Maresca can almost change the whole team.

“When you change the whole team, it’s still a proper team. They’ve got 6-7 forwards you could argue are first choice in some ways. I think not being in the Carabao Cup might be important if Liverpool or Arsenal get to the semi-finals or the final.

“But I look at the goalkeeper and the centre-backs and think…I can’t see someone winning the Premier League with that goalkeeper and without a real standout goalkeeper. I think of City winning it with Ederson and Dias, Liverpool with Alisson and Van Dijk, you go back to Petr Cech and John Terry…those figures you need to win a title, I still think Chelsea are a little bit short in those areas.”

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