If he was playing for Bayern Munich, Thomas Müller might refer to him as ‘Goal’ Palmer, and while that joke is a bad start to this, Cole Palmer’s form since moving to Chelsea has been anything but.

The latest addition to a fine catalogue of displays since moving to Stamford Bridge, his second four-goal game in the league for the Blues, becoming just the ninth player to score 4+ goals in at least two different games.

What’s more impressive is the fact that all four goals came in the first half, becoming the first player in the competition’s history to do so, with Sergio Agüero (x2), Jermain Defoe and Ole Gunnar Solskjaer doing so in the second half.

Premier League	Opponent	Date	Goals
Robbie Fowler	Bolton Wanderers	23/09/1995	4
Robbie Fowler	Middlesbrough	14/12/1996	4
Michael Owen	Nottingham Forest	24/10/1998	4
Michael Owen	West Bromwich Albion	26/04/2003	4
Andrew Cole	Ipswich Town	04/03/1995	5
Andrew Cole	Newcastle United	30/08/1999	4
Ole Gunnar Solskjær	Nottingham Forest	06/02/1999	4
Ole Gunnar Solskjær	Everton	04/12/1999	4
Frank Lampard	Derby County	12/03/2008	4
Frank Lampard	Aston Villa	27/03/2010	4
Dimitar Berbatov	Reading	29/12/2007	4
Dimitar Berbatov	Blackburn Rovers	27/11/2010	5
Yakubu	Middlesbrough	15/05/2004	4
Yakubu	Swansea City	03/12/2011	4
Sergio Agüero	Tottenham Hotspur	18/10/2014	4
Sergio Agüero	Newcastle United	03/10/2015	5
Sergio Agüero	Leicester City	10/02/2018	4
Cole Palmer	Everton	15/04/2024	4
Cole Palmer	Brighton and Hove Albion	28/09/2024	4

Since his debut for Chelsea against Nottingham Forest in September 2023, he now has more Premier League goal involvements than any other player (43 – 28 goals, 15), leaving Erling Haaland in his wake with a paltry 39.

 

If we open up to players across Europe’s big five leagues, only England teammate Harry Kane (49) can better Palmer’s total in that time. It’s safe to say he’s been nothing short of phenomenal.

With that being said, here’s a look at some of his more interesting achievements during his 13 months at Stamford Bridge, and what’s potentially still to come…

Spot On

What fans have become accustomed to with Cole Palmer is an unerring ability to stay calm under pressure, something best exhibited by his immaculate penalty record.

Only Yaya Touré (11/11) has a better 100% conversion rate from the spot in Premier League history than Palmer, who notched his 10^th successful spot kick against Brighton, the second of his four-goal haul.

Premier League	Penalties Taken (min. 10)	Goals (penalties)	Conversion Rate
Yaya Touré	11	11	100%
Cole Palmer	10	10	100%
Matthew Le Tissier	26	25	96%
Danny Murphy	19	18	95%
Callum Wilson	17	16	94%
James Beattie	17	16	94%
Erling Haaland	16	15	94%
Julian Dicks	16	15	94%
Thierry Henry	25	23	92%
Ivan Toney	12	11	92%

With a spread of six to his right, three to his left and one down the middle, it’s a varied approach that has clearly worked for him so far, and will more than likely benefit both club, and possibly country, in the future.

Hat-trick of Hat-Tricks

We’ve already discussed his achievement with regards to two games of 4+ goals, but in notching his third hat-trick in what is just 58 appearances in the competition, he’s the fourth-youngest player to reach three hat-tricks in the competition’s history.

Date	Player	Opponent	Age at Event	Goals
24/10/1998	Michael Owen	Nottingham Forest	18y 314d	4
23/09/1995	Robbie Fowler	Bolton Wanderers	20y 167d	4
02/10/2022	Erling Haaland	Manchester United	22y 073d	3
28/09/2024	Cole Palmer	Brighton and Hove Albion	22y 145d	4
04/03/1995	Andrew Cole	Ipswich Town	23y 140d	5
14/01/2017	Harry Kane	West Bromwich Albion	23y 170d	3
04/02/2017	Romelu Lukaku	Bournemouth	23y 267d	4
03/04/2024	Phil Foden	Aston Villa	23y 311d	3
23/01/2010	Wayne Rooney	Hull City	24y 091d	4
02/01/1995	Alan Shearer	West Ham United	24y 142d	3

With only Michael Owen, Robbie Fowler and Erling Haaland younger, and who are all out-and-out strikers, it’s makes it even more impressive how Palmer has already added his name to this stellar group of names.

 

Indeed, all three of his hat-tricks have come in 2024, doing so against Manchester United and Everton in April last season, although he’s still got a little while to go before eclipsing the six by Harry Kane in 2017:

Premier League	Year	Number of Hat-Tricks
Harry Kane	2017	6
Alan Shearer	1995	5
Wayne Rooney	2011	3
Michael Owen	1998	3
Erling Haaland	2022	3
Erling Haaland	2024	3
Cole Palmer	2024	3
Sergio Agüero	2018	3
Luis Suárez	2013	3
Ruud van Nistelrooij	2003	3

Best of The Blues

Chelsea have had a plethora of Premier League greats don their famous blue strip, so to see Cole Palmer’s 2024 so far rank amongst their very best in terms of goals and goal involvements is quite something.

20 goals and 11 assists already in 2024 puts Palmer T-4^th for goals in the competition for the Blues in a calendar year and T-4^th again for goal involvements with 31 in total so far, with potentially as many as 13 Premier League games still to play in 2024

As is the theme however, Harry Kane remains the main to catch for both overall thanks to an incredible 2017, notching 39 goals and 46 goal involvements in total, but it’s nice to have something to aim for.

Chelsea – Premier League	Year	Goals		Chelsea – Premier League	Year	Goals	Assists	Goals+Assists
Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink	2001	25		Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink	2001	25	11	36
Didier Drogba	2010	22		Didier Drogba	2010	22	13	35
Diego Costa	2016	21		Frank Lampard	2005	20	13	33
Frank Lampard	2005	20		Diego Costa	2016	21	10	31
Cole Palmer	2024	20		Cole Palmer	2024	20	11	31
Didier Drogba	2006	19		Eden Hazard	2018	17	11	28
Didier Drogba	2009	18		Didier Drogba	2006	19	8	27
Frank Lampard	2010	17		Didier Drogba	2009	18	9	27
Florent Malouda	2010	17		Florent Malouda	2010	17	7	24
Eden Hazard	2018	17		Frank Lampard	2009	10	14	24

Looking Ahead

While it’s fun to look back at some of the things Palmer has achieved so far in his relatively short career to date, it’s even more fun to look ahead to what he might do in the games to come.

One example of this would be by the time he reaches 50 starts in the competition. He’s already on 38 across both his time at Manchester City (3) and Chelsea (35), with all 44 of his goal involvements in the league to date (28 goals and 16 assists) coming in those starts.

Premier League – First 50 Starts	Goals	Assists	Goals+Assists
Erling Haaland	51	13	64
Andrew Cole	41	16	57
Alan Shearer	45	7	52
Mohamed Salah	36	14	50
Eric Cantona	26	23	49
Bruno Fernandes	29	18	47
Thierry Henry	31	15	46
Cole Palmer (38 Starts)	28	16	44
Fernando Torres	36	6	42
Gabriel Jesus	32	10	42
Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang	35	6	41
Teddy Sheringham	30	11	41
Didier Drogba	24	17	41

Extrapolated over the course of 50 starts (1.16 goal involvements per start), at his current rate he’ll reach 58 goal involvements by his 50^th start, fewer than only Erling Haaland, but there’s not many lists the Norwegian doesn’t top.

And while that’s to come, Palmer currently ranks second in Premier League history for minutes per goal involvement (min. 5 involvements), it truly puts into perspective what the PFA Young Player of Year for 2023-24 has already achieved.

Premier League	Minutes Played	Goals	Assists	Goals+Assists (min. 5)	Mins/Goal Involvement
Erling Haaland	5871	73	13	86	68
Cole Palmer	3610	28	16	44	82
Jhon Durán	745	9	0	9	83
Thierry Henry	21313	175	74	249	86
Sergio Agüero	19857	184	47	231	86
Mohamed Salah	21793	161	73	234	93
Stevan Jovetic	1147	8	4	12	96
Federico Macheda	609	4	2	6	102
Robin van Persie	20115	144	53	197	102
Harry Kane	26939	213	46	259	104
Luis Suárez	9577	69	23	92	104

Who knows, by the end of this season he could be adding a PFA Player of the Year award to his trophy cabinet.

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