Gary Neville left with egg on his face as comments about Palmer's £42.5m signing

Gary Neville has been left with egg on his face after comments he made about Cole Palmer's signing by Chelsea have resurfaced, following his latest startling performance.

The 21-year-old joined his former Manchester City team-mate Erling Haaland atop the Premier League goalscoring charts with a four-haul to help demolish Everton on Monday night.

Palmer was one of 12 players to arrive at the club for a fee in a 'mad' summer window and Neville - speaking back in September - did not expect his signing to be anything special.

In fact, he believed the £42.5million deal was further evidence of the Blues' erratic recruitment strategy under Todd Boehly and Clearlake Capital.

'It's just a little bit mad, isn't it?' He said on his Sky Sports podcast. 'It's chaotic.'

'The amount of players they have signed. I saw Palmer come on today who they bought for £40million from City and you think, "there's another one"'.

The former Manchester United defender was not alone in his assessment of Chelsea's summer business, or in the ability of Palmer, who had only been afforded sporadic substitute appearances under Pep Guardiola at the Etihad.

Palmer has exceeded all expectations since moving to the Blues, remarkably, currently averaging a goal every 104 minutes in the Premier League.

To go with his league-high 20 strikes, the England international's tally of nine assists is only bettered by Ollie Watkins, Pascal Gross and Kieran Trippier on 10.

On a perfect night for the youngster, Palmer also became the first Chelsea player to score in seven consecutive matches at Stamford Bridge, eclipsing a record held by club legends Didier Drogba and Eidur Gudjohnsen.

'It all happens so fast,' Palmer told Sky Sports post-match. 'The first one was my favourite, my