Chelsea star Marc Cucrella took a cheeky swipe at superstar teammate Cole Palmer over his appearance but believes England international is destined to ‘be among the best’.
Palmer has enjoyed a stunning start to the 2024-25 Premier League season with six goals and five assists from Chelsea’s first seven games.
Four of those goals came in a dazzling performance against Brighton on September 28, which the Blues won 4-2.
Despite the 22-year-old’s match-winning displays for Enzo Maresca’s side, Cucurella believes Palmer has one glaring flaw.
‘If you see him not in his kit you would never in your life say he was a footballer, but then on the pitch.. he shoots and it doesn’t seem like he is hitting hard but he scores them all,’ Cucurella said.
Chelsea defender Marc Cucurella aimed a cheeky dig at his superstar teammate Cole Palmer
Cucurella believed Palmer does not look like a footballer and felt his hair needed improvement
However, the Spaniard lauded Palmer and believes he can go on to ‘be among the best’
‘He’s very different. I don’t know how to explain it. He’s special. We’re very lucky we have him. We’re very lucky he didn’t play much in the Euros either because he came on and almost messed it up for us.
‘If he carries on like this, he’ll be among the best. There’s not much strength in the hair, but if that’s his only problem, then he’s all right.’
It would require some effort from Palmer to replicate the curled brown locks of Cucurella.
But few Chelsea fans will care what Palmer looks like so long as he maintains his blistering form for the Blues.
It didn’t take long for Palmer to become a Stamford Bridge hero following his £43million switch from Manchester City in 2023.
He scored 22 goals and registered 11 assists in his debut campaign for the club as Chelsea finished sixth in the league under Mauricio Pochettino.
However, the Argentinian departed the club at the end of the season as former Leicester City boss Maresca was named as his replacement.
Under the Italian, Chelsea sit fourth on the Premier League table with 14 points.
The 22-year-old has been in sensational form this season for Chelsea under Enzo Maresca
He has six goals and five assists from seven Premier League fixtures, with plenty more to come
Palmer even scored all four of Chelsea’s goals in the 4-2 win over Brighton in September
Maresca’s side have proved to be one of the league’s great entertainers this season having scored the second-most amount of goals with 16, just one behind Manchester City’s tally.
The Blues’ one defeat came in their opening fixture against City but gone unbeaten in their following six games.
Chelsea also enjoyed victories over Barrow and Genk in the EFL Cup and Europa Conference League respectively.
However, Maresca’s men face a tricky task in their return from the international break as they face league-leaders Liverpool at Anfield on October 20.
