Chelsea awards 2023-24: Best & worst player, best & worst transfer, top scorer

Cameron Smith

21 May 2024 16:00 BST
4 min read

Cole Palmer, Moises Caicedo, Chelsea, 2023/24 — © IMAGO

Considering the immense investment made under Clearlake Capital’s ownership, Chelsea’s sixth place finish during the 2023-24 Premier League season initially looks like a poor one.

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However, Mauricio Pochettino managed to galvanise the Blues squad in the latter stages of the campaign, with Chelsea picking up the third-most points of any team during the final 15 Premier League matches.

The Argentine remains under massive pressure as Chelsea’s owners ponder over his future at Stamford Bridge, but there’s no doubt Pochettino is backed by the fans after the Blues’ late-season form.

Below, FootballTransfers runs through our Chelsea awards for the 2023-24 campaign.

Chelsea’s Player of the Season

Cole Palmer was undoubtedly Chelsea’s Player of the Season, hence why he scooped this prize during the Blues’ end of season awards.

He showed glimpses of his talent at Manchester City, but Palmer was never given a regular run of minutes under Pep Guardiola. Chelsea saw an opportunity to sign him for €47 million and that fee now looks like a bargain, despite it seeming like a vast overpay at the time.

Palmer ended the season with 25 goals and 15 assists in all competitions (plus a further two goals scored for Man City) and it’s fair to say Chelsea would likely have finished in the bottom-half without the England international.

Chelsea’s Flop of the Season

Seven goals and two assists in all competitions is a fairly respectable tally, but Myhailo Mudryk was largely underwhelming during his first full season in England.

The Ukrainian is still frustratingly anonymous during large chunks of matches and is often seen static - waiting for the ball to be passed to him, rather than making a movement to impact the game on his own.

© IMAGO - Mykhailo Mudryk was underwhelming for the majority of the 2023-24 season

For an initial €70m, he hasn't lived up to expectations, although Mudryk's goal against Nottingham Forest was a glimpse of what he can do.

Robert Sanchez and Romeo Lavia are also contenders for this award, although Mudryk just pips them.

Chelsea’s Top Scorer

Palmer was Chelsea’s top goalscorer with 25 goals in all competitions. Nicolas Jackson was second with 17, while Raheem Sterling was third with 10.

Palmer was also Chelsea’s top assist provider, registering 15 in all competitions.

Chelsea’s Best Transfer

Palmer scoops up another award - this time in the form of Chelsea’s best transfer. Several of the Blues’ new arrivals failed to live up to expectations, but Palmer certainly exceeded everyone’s predictions.

Moises Caicedo is a good shout after an impressive season following his big-money arrival from Brighton & Hove Albion, but Palmer is the clear winner.

© IMAGO - Cole Palmer enjoyed a brilliant first season at Chelsea

Chelsea’s Worst Transfer

This may seem extremely harsh, but Romeo Lavia played just 32 minutes of football during the season and for someone who cost over €60m, he has to go down as Chelsea’s worst signing of the summer.

The Belgian international has bundles of talent and is likely to come good at Stamford Bridge, but his lack of involvement (and huge price tag) means he has been handed the unwanted award of Chelsea’s worst transfer of 2023-24.

Chelsea’s Best Youngster

Palmer once again qualifies for this and given he won the Premier League’s Young Player of the Season award, it makes sense for him to be handed that honour in our list too.

However, Malo Gusto pushed him extremely close after a fantastic debut season in the Premier League.