Palmer's golden talent can lift England to new peak

In the midst of an 18-game goal drought, questions began to surface about Cole Palmer's potency. With a supersonic rise to prominence comes the inevitable doubt that such quality can be sustained.

- WILL CASTLE IN NEW YORK

The Manchester City youth product had set expectations high. His debut season at Chelsea single-handedly justified Todd Boehly’s strategy of heavy investment in high potential, registering 33 goal contributions in 34 Premier League games in 2023/24. And while his midterm tally of 14 goals this year was by no means indicative of a one-season wonder, the barren run that followed led the naysayers to become emboldened.

When his dry spell eventually came to an end on 4 May - netting a last-second penalty as Chelsea capitalised on Liverpool’s post-crowning hangover - there was a real feeling of a weight being lifted.

The 23-year-old had come out the other side of his first true patch of adversity as a senior player, the significance of which was represented by goalkeeper Robert Sanchez running the length of the pitch to celebrate with him.

Palmer has looked his old self since that Sunday afternoon at Stamford Bridge, crucially re-stamping his mark as a big game player. His dazzling second-half display in the Conference League final made such a fact apparent, outshining his opposite number - a rejuvenated 33-year-old Spanish playmaker Isco - to spearhead a stunning turnaround against Real Betis.

But it was stateside, against the best team on the planet, where the Englishman made his biggest statement.

There are not enough superlatives in the dictionary to describe Palmer’s scything of Paris Saint-Germain. Luis Enrique had seemingly built an unbeatable footballing force, one that had conquered Europe after ridding itself of a reliance on superstars, instead shifting to an ideology that focused on the all-powerful collective. Ironically, it was an individual who proved their undoing when world champion status was put on the line.