Cole Palmer transfer value rockets as Chelsea eye lucrative FFP escape routes

«All you need is some good players to play with. I know you can't say that but I'm saying it, I just think you need more quality around you. For me, he [Mauricio Pochettino] needs to build the team around you.

Tim Sherwood was slammed just three weeks ago for his comments about Cole Palmer and Chelsea. Given that Mykhailo Mudryk, Nicolas Jackson, and Malo Gusto had all just stood out alongside the former Manchester City academy ace during a 3-2 win over Newcastle, they seemed misjudged and misguided to the point of offensive.

Palmer's response mirrored his play: measured, calm, but with a sense of arrogance and knowing. „Yeah, there is a lot of quality there,“ he said, shrugging off a surprise gambit from his interviewer like he would roll a tackle on the right wing. „Not just me. We have got loads of other players but hopefully, the team can gel a bit more.“

Against Burnley on Sunday Palmer would have been justified in wishing that there was a bit more quality around him. Chelsea played like a side full of Enzo Fernadez's. The Argentine had arrived back in the country from the international break less than two days before the game and did so having jetted across the world to get there off the back of two high-altitude 90-minute matches.

That he was unable to carve open even a 10-man Burnley side is unsurprising.The worry is that Palmer and his teammates played with a different level of arrogance here. Whilst Chelsea's players struggled to bring themselves to speed with the reality that they were about to drop points in the most embarrassing fashion possible, Palmer channelled that in the right way.

His outlook was to take advantage of the quality advantage on show, firing in shots at every opportunity, creating angles,