Most Premier League goal contributions since joining Chelsea - Is Palmer league's best player?

When Cole Palmer signed for Chelsea from Manchester City for €47m last summer, some people actually felt Chelsea had overpaid for the young Englishmen. He had only made 19 Premier League appearances at that time, and had played just 490 minutes in the English top-flight. It's safe to say no one expected him to have the monumental impact he has had at Stamford Bridge. Football fans were left astonished up and down the country this Saturday as they checked the half-time scores to see Palmer had scored four goals in just 20 first half minutes in the Blues 4-2 win against Brighton.

It was Palmer's second four goal haul in the English top-flight for Chelsea already, and he has only played 58 Premier League games. Since he signed for the West London club, no player in the entire division has more direct goal contributions than his 43 - not even the prolific Erling Haaland. It's very difficult to question Pep Guardiola's decision making usually, but there can be little doubt, a part of him will be regretting letting Palmer leave the Etihad. You could make the argument that no player in the Premier League is more important to their team than Palmer is to Chelsea right now. 

Why Palmer is so important to Chelsea 

As you can see in the graphic above, Palmer has outperformed all attacking players over the last season or so in the Premier League. That stat is already remarkable given his age and lack of experience in the division. When you then take into account that he achieved that for a Chelsea team that struggled for much of last season and finished sixth in the table, it becomes even more flabbergasting. Other than Palmer, each of the other top four on that list played for a team that finished in the Premier League's top four last term.

To score four goals in a single Premier League game is a feat most don't get to achieve across their entire career. Robin van Persie never did it, Dennis Bergkamp never did it, Les Ferdinand never did it. Alan Shearer managed it once, Thierry Henry managed it once, Wayne Rooney managed it once. To have achieved scoring four in one game twice by the age of 22, after making just 58 Premier League appearances, is seriously special. Palmer followed up his quadruple against Everton last season with another against the Seagulls, and became just the seventh player to score four or more in a single Premier League match on more than one occasion. 

As can be identified in the graphic above, Palmer joins an illustrious list of Premier League legends. Man City hero Sergio Agüero is the only player to score four or more three times in the division. What's particularly striking about that graphic, is that, other than Palmer, every player on there has played at least 250 games in the Premier League. What Chelsea's No.20 is doing right now is scarily good, and he has to now be considered among the very best players in the English top-flight.

On form you could definitely argue Palmer is the best player in the Premier League at this moment in time. He is performing week-in week-out at such a high level, and for a team not widely expected to be in the title race come the season's conclusion. However, sample size must be taken into account, and to truly take the mantle of the league's very best player ahead of the likes of Kevin De Bruyne, Phil Foden, Rodri, Haaland, Martin Ødegaard, and Bukayo Saka, Palmer must prove he can compete to these standards for at least three seasons. Right now he is a true irreplaceable asset to the Blues. 

Palmer scored 22 of Chelsea's 77 Premier League goals last season, equating to 28.6% of the team's league goals. As you can see, only Dominic Solanke (at Bournemouth at the time) contributed a higher % of his team's league goals (35.2%). If we take into account this season as well, Palmer's ratio increases further to 33.7% of the Blues' league goals since he arrived at the club. He recently, in typical Chelsea fashion under Todd Boehly, signed a contract extension which rises to nine years, keeping him at the club until 2033. Often these long contracts are questioned, but you can understand Chelsea wanting to tie down their star man's future.