Where Chelsea would be in the Premier League table without Cole Palmer
Cole Palmer has undoubtedly been one of the signings of the season and to illustrate his impact, we’ve worked out where Chelsea would currently be in the Premier League table without the 21-year-old.
Leaving Manchester City on the back of a treble-winning season can’t have been an easy decision to make, but from Palmer’s perspective, his stock has risen tremendously since moving to London.
The England international is playing more football than ever before and it would probably be fair to say that he’s currently the first name on the team sheet at Chelsea.
In the Premier League alone, Palmer has produced 24 goal contributions with 16 goals and eight assists to his name. Taking his game time into consideration, he’s currently averaging a goal or assist every 80.3 minutes in the Premier League.
On the back of his impressive form, Palmer has earned plenty of plaudits from fans and pundits alike. Former Chelsea forward Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink has been particularly impressed with the dynamic winger.
“Cole Palmer has got class, but his intelligence in football is really high,” Hasselbaink said on BBC One.
“He is the future. He’s in the [England] squad, he plays absolutely magnificently for his club. There’s a lot of talent in his position, but he’s in the squad. When you play for the national team, it’s another level and it’s up to him.”
Taking Palmer’s goals and assists into consideration, he’s won Chelsea a total of 18 points this season. Without those 18 points, the club would currently be sat 16th in the table and only outside the relegation zone on goal difference.
He managed to earn Mauricio Pochettino’s side a point in his last game as he was on the scoresheet twice in Chelsea’s 2-2 draw with Burnley.
Following the recent draw against Burnley, Palmer aired his frustrations with Chelsea’s season so far as he told Sky Sports: “It’s poor. It can’t happen, especially when they go down to 10 men.
“The changing room is really down. When we went down to ten men, we were 1-0 up and just got too comfortable. Same story, we kill ourselves every week. It’s got to improve from us as players.
“We had many chances and then that time we defended soppy. It’s very disappointing. On a personal level, it’s good to score two, but if you don’t get the three points they count for nothing.
“I think it’s our consistency all around the pitch, being alive and not switching off like we did today. We seriously have to do some consistency if we want to do something.”
READ: Eight exceptional Premier League stars we can’t believe Cole Palmer is outperforming in 2023-24
Given Palmer’s importance to Chelsea, we’ve worked out where Pochettino’s side would currently be in the Premier League, had they not signed the 21-year-old.
The likes of Arsenal, Manchester City and Newcastle are among the nine clubs who would have more points on the board, had it not been for Palmer this season.
This is how the Premier League table shapes up when you take away Palmer’s goals and assists for Chelsea in 2023-24.
Note: all teams have played 29 games unless otherwise stated.
1. Liverpool – 70 points
2. Arsenal – 69 points (played 29)
3. Manchester City – 68 points (played 28)
4. Aston Villa – 59 points (played 30)
5. Tottenham – 57 points
6. Manchester United – 51 points
7. Newcastle – 47 points
8. West Ham – 45 points (played 31)
9. Brighton – 43 points
10. Wolves – 42 points
11. Fulham – 39 points (played 31)
12. Bournemouth – 41 points
13. Crystal Palace – 31 points
14. Brentford – 30 points (played 31)
15. Everton – 26 points
16. Chelsea – 25 points (played 29)
17. Luton Town – 25 points
18. Nottingham Forest – 25 points (played 31)
19. Burnley – 21 points (played 31)
20. Sheffield United – 16 points
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