Paul Merson believes that Cole Palmer’s form at Chelsea has dipped due to the absence of one of the club’s best performers this season.
Despite the Blues registering a much-needed four-nil win over struggling Southampton, Palmer failed to register a goal contribution for the seventh game in a row, representing his worst drought since joining in 2023.
Yet, he remains a key figure in their build-up and is still top of the key passes list across the league with 63 so far this season.
Instead, it was the supporting cast who stepped up against the Saints; Christopher Nkunku, Pedro Neto, Levi Colwill and Marc Cucurella all scored as Chelsea moved back into fourth place in the Premier League table.
Coincidentally, multiple players celebrated by using the ‘talk’ hand gesture to hit back at the critics from recent weeks. In contrast, Palmer took to social media to post a defiant message amid his dry spell: “Well done lads +3 … don’t worry I will be back.”
Chelsea boss Enzo Maresca was quick to defend Palmer in his post-match interview, revealing he remains upbeat and that there is ‘no doubt’ in his mind that he will return to top form in due time.
“Cole Palmer is a human being,” said Maresca, “All players at all big clubs go through bad moments where they struggle to score. At this moment Cole is struggling to score but he’s happy and he knows it’s something normal.
“It’s how you react and he’s reacting perfectly, he’s laughing, he’s happy. He has to enjoy football. We don’t have any doubt he’s going to score more goals.”
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Merson claims Palmer is missing Chelsea star
Former Arsenal star Merson believes there may be one significant reason behind Palmer’s downturn in form – the absence of starting striker Nicolas Jackson.
The Senegal international has missed their last four games and is set to remain unavailable until after the international break in March.
Having managed nine goals and three assists in his 15 games, he was key to Chelsea’s early season form but his absence is currently being felt by the team – and Palmer – who Merson believes is a player that he misses ‘immensely’.
Merson told Sky Sports: “He was never going to be able to keep up with what he was doing – it’s impossible. He couldn’t keep up with what he was doing, the numbers he was putting up.
“It’s hard for a kid and he is a youngster still. On top of last season and this season, he was always going to have a lull, a little bit of a lull. But at the same time, he can’t keep on doing it.
“He (Palmer) misses Jackson immensely. If you watch there, everything he is trying to do, he’s trying to do it himself. When Jackson plays, Jackson spreads the game, then he can get on the ball, get his head up and then play Jackson in.”
The numbers back that up; Palmer has managed 34 goals and contributed 17 assists in 53 appearances with him, compared to just two goals in six matches without him and Merson suggested that ‘he needs a focal point’ to allow him to have the space and freedom to thrive.
“Now the game is becoming compact and every time he gets the ball, there are three or four players around him. Jackson is only as good as Palmer and Palmer is only as good as Jackson.
“I don’t mean that disrespectfully to Palmer. But he needs pace up front and he needs a focal point that is going to open the game up.
“At the moment, it’s too tight and too congested and he is very easy to pick up. He is so frustrated now that at Stamford Bridge, he is coming to pick the ball up from the centre-half on the half-way line and you don’t want Palmer there.”
