Cole Palmer Thrives Under Xabi Alonso at Chelsea

Cole Palmer says Xabi Alonso has ripped up the script for his role at Chelsea – and he is loving every second of it.

The forward has opened the new season in sharp form, scoring and assisting in Monday night’s 3-2 Premier League win over Fulham, and he credits the new head coach with unleashing a different side of his game.

Palmer dazzled in his first year at Stamford Bridge, but the follow-up campaign bit back. Form dipped, fitness wobbled, and the 24-year-old ultimately missed out on England’s World Cup squad. Now, with Alonso in charge, he looks like a player unshackled.

“He [Alonso] just said I'd have more freedom to drift about the pitch,” Palmer told Sky Sports after the Fulham win. “Just like you saw [against Fulham] with the goal I scored.

“Last season, I wouldn't have even made that run because it's not a 'safe zone'. But he's saying move across that zone, drop into play, come get on the ball, create and just do what you do.”

That is a marked shift from the structure of last season, when Chelsea laboured to a 10th-place finish in the Premier League and saw both Enzo Maresca and Liam Rosenior lose their jobs during a turbulent campaign.

Alonso arrived at the start of the summer carrying the weight of his work at Bayer Leverkusen and his pedigree from Real Madrid. Chelsea’s hierarchy have backed him heavily. Morgan Rogers came in from Aston Villa for more than £100m to strengthen the attacking midfield department, adding another high-end option to a squad that already featured Palmer and Joao Pedro.

The three have already picked up a nickname among sections of the Chelsea support: “JP Morgan”. Palmer, though, is not convinced.

“It's a rubbish name,” he laughed. “We need to come up with something better than that.

“I think we've got a different mix of qualities. Joao can do a bit of everything. Morgan's more physical and I'm more technical, so I think we've got a good balance.”

Freedom, variety, and a manager willing to trust his creators between the lines – Chelsea’s attack suddenly has a different edge. Now the question is how far that new licence, and that new balance, can take them.