Cole Palmer has undoubtedly been in incredible form since his move to Chelsea in the summer of 2023, prompting former French midfielder Emmanuel Petit to suggest he is on track to win the Ballon d’Or, with only three players capable of preventing him from securing the coveted award.
Palmer recorded 27 goals and 15 assists across all competitions during the 2023-2024 campaign, earning a top-30 finish on the Ballon d’Or list.
This season, he has continued in similarly impressive fashion, scoring 11 goals and providing six assists—all in the Premier League. He has registered the most goal involvements of any player in the league since the start of the 2023-2024 season.
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Petit on Cole Palmer’s Ballon d’Or prospects
Petit believes that if the 22-year-old England international maintains this level of performance, he could be crowned the world’s best player soon—but he faces competition from three key players.
The former Arsenal midfielder stated that only Barcelona’s Lamine Yamal, Real Madrid’s Kylian Mbappe, and Vinicius Junior—the 2024 runner-up—could stand in Palmer’s way.
“[Lamine] Yamal at Barcelona, Vinicius or maybe [Kylian] Mbappe, if he comes back,” Petit told Talksport, speaking on Palmer’s prospects of winning the Ballon d’Or.
“He [Palmer] has to show his abilities every single weekend. This is what he’s doing right now. He’s been playing like that for 16 months already.”
This weekend’s league clash against Brentford presents another opportunity for Cole Palmer to continue his impressive run, as Chelsea aim for three points while looking to take advantage of Liverpool and Arsenal’s slip-ups on Saturday.
Victory this weekend would extend the Blues’ lead over third-placed Arsenal to four points and bring them closer to league leaders Liverpool, who will have played one game fewer.
