Palmer has already matched Havertz's best Chelsea season

Tom Weber

• Updated: 30 Dec 2023 15:33 GMT
• 4 min read

He has not scored a Champions League-winning goal (yet), but Cole Palmer is already proving to be a better signing for Chelsea than Kai Havertz.

A sentiment espoused by many Blues fans this season has been this: Cole Palmer is the player we thought Kai Havertz would be. The German's time at Stamford Bridge was a bitter disappointment. At one point his country's most promising young talent, Havertz struggled to properly come to grips with life in the Premier League and he was not helped by the constant managerial turnover and being played out of position at Chelsea.

Signed for €80 million, Chelsea sold him to Arsenal for €75m in the summer and it's looking more and more like a brilliant piece of business as they used that money to sign Cole Palmer from Man City for €47m. While Havertz has only recently started to consistently play well for the Gunners, Palmer has been brilliant for the Blues from day one.

He again showed off his talent against Luton, who put in a valiant effort but were ultimately beaten by 3-2. Palmer scored twice, including a stunning goal where he showed exceptional close control and composure, and notched an assist. Unsurprisingly, he was named Man of the Match after the game, but the numbers he recorded on the day are quite significant.

Palmer has already matched Havertz

That's because they took his Premier League tally for the season up to eight goals and four assists in 17 games. That is the same amount Havertz managed in his most productive Chelsea season in the English top flight, doing it over the course of 29 matches.

Palmer still has a long way to go to match his overall record of 32 goals and 15 assists, of course, but it nevertheless illustrates just what a brilliant signing the 21-year-old attacking midfielder has been for Mauricio Pochettino's side.

His Luton output furthermore lifted him into the top ten of the most productive Premier League players so far this season, while his stunning form has also not gone unnoticed by data experts SciSports. Their algorithm has registered a quite stunning increase in his skill level over the past six months, the second highest of any player in the Premier League behind only Burnley wonderkid Luca Koleosho, who was a relative unknown before his arrival.

Finally, his Estimated Transfer Value (ETV) has drastically increased in recent months. At the beginning of September, his ETV stood at just €4.6m. Now, the youngster is worth almost €33m and his value will only increase further if he keeps playing at this level.

Palmer is quickly becoming Chelsea's new golden boy, the player Havertz was supposed to be. While his predecessor could yet forge his own successful path at Arsenal, Palmer is well on his way to becoming the Chelsea star Havertz never did manage to become.