Cole Palmer’s 2023 move to Chelsea raised plenty of questions at the time but it is fair to say he has answered them in style.
The forward had come through the Manchester City academy and was clearly hugely talented, but was yet to make his big breakthrough.
Palmer had 19 Premier League appearances to his name and no goals, although he had netted six times in 41 games across all competitions.
His place in the City team was not secured, but it did not look guaranteed at Chelsea either when the Blues decided to spend an initial £40 million on him.
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The Blues had spent big that summer, yet again, bringing in the likes of Nicolas Jackson, Christopher Nkunku, Moises Caicedo and Romeo Lavia.
Palmer quickly made an impact, though, and would have a stunning first season in west London, scoring 22 Premier League goals and 25 in all competitions.
He has remained a fixture in the starting XI, when fit, and now has 58 Chelsea goals to his name in 139 outings.
Last week it was announced that the England international has signed a new contract at Stamford Bridge, keeping him there until 2034.
Palmer has been looking back on his time at Chelsea so far and picked out some highlights, including his favourite goal.
It was not a piece of technical brilliance or the calm finishing he is known for, instead it was a shot which took a fortunate deflection off Scott McTominay and found the back of Andre Onana’s goal.
However, it came after 100 minutes 39 seconds of the match against Manchester United and the latest winner in Premier League history completed a remarkable 4-3 come-from-behind victory.
‘This one was mad,’ Palmer said of the dramatic late winner. ‘I don’t think I slept that night. It was madness. The Bridge was crazy. I think that fourth goal is my favourite ever.’
Palmer just keeps adding to his highlight reel… 😮💨#CFC | #CheMun pic.twitter.com/BvoqpIuHU8
— Chelsea FC (@ChelseaFC) April 5, 2024
That is a remarkable achievement as it is, but especially so given he had barely slept the night before.
‘This one was the maddest. I went to bed at 5am before this game,’ he said. ‘I can’t remember if I couldn’t sleep; I just ended up going to bed so late, but I ended up scoring four and I also missed another chance. I think I was offside, but my Dad doesn’t think I was.
‘He said if I had went to bed earlier, I might have scored six. I told him if I went to bed earlier, I wouldn’t have had those four chances!’
On signing his new deal with the Blues, which is one of the longest contracts in the Premier League, Palmer said: ‘Chelsea means a lot to me and I think the club is going in the right direction, so I’m delighted to sign and I’m obviously very happy.
‘Speaking to the owners, to the sporting directors and obviously the manager, they gave me a lot of confidence so it was only right to sign.
‘Speaking to players as well, everyone has the same ambitions. I feel like we win major trophies here consistently and I want to be a part of that and play a big role in it too.’
Palmer did not score in the 5-1 win over Bournemouth on Saturday, but the resounding victory saw Xabi Alonso’s team climb to fifth in the early Premier League table.