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Manchester United legend Gary Neville has claimed that Chelsea star Cole Palmer has shocked him. He heaped praise on the midfielder and shared his surprise at Manchester City letting him leave.
The Blues signed Palmer from City for a reported fee of £42.5 million last summer. He scored 27 goals and provided 15 assists in 48 games across competitions last season. He won the PFA Young Player of the Year award and Chelsea's Player of the Year award as well.
Palmer has continued this exploits this season. He scored all four goals in the Blues' 4-2 win over Brighton & Hove Albion at Stamford Bridge in the Premier League on September 28. When asked if Palmer is the best player in the league on NBC Sports, Neville said (via Evening Standard):
“He’s not far off! I have to say that I was surprised last season. I remember when Mohamed Salah scored those goals all those years ago and I thought, ‘He won’t repeat that in the second season, he won’t repeat that in the third season’, and Cole Palmer is just going and completely shocking me in terms of what he’s delivering.
“I can’t believe the level that he’s getting to and to think that he wasn’t playing for England in the European Championship in the summer now just seems absolutely ridiculous. And it seems even more ridiculous that Manchester City, who have been unbelievable in the transfer market, have let one of their own go.”
Palmer has now scored six goals and provided four assists in eight games across competitions for Chelsea this season.
Enzo Maresca on Cole Palmer's performance in Chelsea's win over Brighton
Enzo Maresca had also worked with Cole Palmer when he was an assistant manager at Manchester City. Hence, the midfielder's exploits for the west London side are no surprise to him. After the Englishman's four-goal haul against Brighton, Maresca said about Palmer (via Chelseafc.com):
"He’s a special player, a simple guy, a humble guy. He doesn’t need to tell people how good he is because you can see it clearly. For sure when you score four goals it is a great performance. But I said to Cole he scored four, he could have scored two or three more, so it’s good that he continues to be hungry, ambitious."
Palmer helped Chelsea reach the Carabao Cup final last season where they lost against Liverpool. He will look to help them win silverware this season.
The Blues are fourth in the Premier League table with 13 points, two behind leaders Liverpool. They will next face Gent at home in the UEFA Europa Conference League on October 3. Notably, Palmer is not part of their squad for the league stages of the competition.
