Speaking exclusively with BoyleSports , England icon Stuart Pearce has explained how he doesn’t think Cole Palmer is the Premier League’s most valuable player just yet.
The former Premier League manager also gave his thoughts on the depth and versatility in the Chelsea squad and his assessment of the club's transfer business to date.
Chelsea’s Shock Triumph
Chelsea went out there, I wouldn’t say with any expectation, we thought they might do reasonably well after a good end to the season, obviously lifting up silverware in Europe as well. But I think João Pedro’s addition has been helpful. Liam Delap has done well coming in after the season ended.
From their point of view, I think they’ve just shown that they have got a good, diverse squad of players.
Half-Time Show Madness
I mean, the half-time interval was ridiculous. I kept switching between England women and that game, I kept trying to turn back after half time and the interval just went on and on and on – but it might be something we’re gonna see come the World Cup next year.
Luis Enrique’s Outburst
There was a lot of drama at the end of the game; without a doubt, there were a few antics, and Chelsea were trying to slow the game down with certain things. You could see the PSG players were getting very annoyed. A couple of their challenges were a bit lively, and then the managers got caught up with it as well, and both sets of coaching staff.
Cole Palmer’s Value
I wouldn’t say that Cole Palmer is the most valuable player in the Premier League, but for Chelsea, he’s the most valuable player without a doubt. The ability to score a goal out of nothing, his ability to finish was there for all to see across the two cup finals that they have gone on to win.
Chelsea seems to have been a really good move for him. Typical of a player that’s probably not playing regularly at each club at Man City, gets the move, feels a bit more valued, one thing leads to another and all of a sudden it’s exactly what he wanted, playing regular first team football. What we want is him to string performances together consistently to make sure he’s a real threat for England next summer as well.
Palmer vs Haaland
Every year, new players come from foreign shores to supplement what we’ve already got. But the most exciting thing for me, as being a former England under-21 manager, is the exciting young talent that we’ve got and making sure we give them a platform to flourish on. Palmer’s World Cup Potential think the good thing for England is that we have got players in our ranks, we believe, that can go and can rip the World Cup up and be an absolute star.
Cole Palmer is one of them, as are Phil Foden and Jude Bellingham. Certainly, from Cole’s point of view, he’s demonstrated at Chelsea that he’s delivered the goods. No doubt about that with his goals over the last couple of seasons. What we need to do is make sure he can deliver those performances and those goals in the national shirt, as well will be fantastic for him. That should be his target.
João Pedro’s Impact
When Chelsea had Nicolas Jackson up front, we always felt as though he’d get chances but miss chances, and they needed someone to supplement him. They’ve gone out in the marketplace and got two young strikers in João Pedro and Liam Delap, so whether Jackson stays there or not by the time the season starts, who knows? But they’ve got three strikers on their books at the moment that are all of a really good age, with improvement in front of them.
So they look really good there. João Pedro he’s got an arrogance about him. I remember covering a game down at Brighton last year, and I looked at him and thought, Is that a good arrogance? I’m not sure yet, but he looks as though he’s walked into a dressing room there at Chelsea, that he’s enjoying the company of his team-mates.
From what I’m seeing from this short period of time. He looks as though it could be a very good acquisition for Chelsea. Other teams around the Premier League, if he starts to rip it up a little bit, will be looking and thinking, maybe we’ve missed out on that one. Newcastle being one of them. With Callum Wilson leaving. Newcastle’s priority is to make sure that Alexander Isak doesn’t leave the football club and is still there next year, leading the line.
Liam Delap’s Challenge
Liam Delap led the line at Ipswich and was probably the one bright spark to come out of the football club in a disappointing season. If we rolled the clock back and asked what is needed for him as an individual, it’s to continue playing 30-plus games a season.
Whether he’ll do that at Chelsea, I don’t know; time will tell on that. He’s a big club now, and albeit he was at Manchester City beforehand, I think he’s still got a lot to prove in my eyes, but Chelsea have got options there and they’re hoovering up young players that they think they can resell in the future.
Noni Madueke’s Transfer Value
If Noni Madueke rips it up for Arsenal, £50million will look very cheap, make no mistake about that. I think at the moment, both teams can lay claim to having a good deal. He’s 23 years old, so £50million in the run of things gives Arsenal another dimension as well.
From Chelsea’s point of view, if they stop piling too many players to recoup £50m, I think both teams have got a decent deal. Sometimes that happens. It’s not always one’s got a good deal; one’s got a bad deal. I would say in this respect, both of them have got a reasonable deal, they’re both happy with.
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