“You’d have a good chance of him winning the Golden Boot.”
This is what former Arsenal striker Alan Smith said about Chelsea’s Cole Palmer on Sky Sports after the midfielder scored four goals in the 6-0 rout of Everton.
Palmer was simply sensational, scoring three goals in 29 minutes and scoring his 20th Premier League goal of the season in the second half, moving level with Erling Haaland in the race for the Golden Boot.
It’s even more remarkable considering before Palmer moved from Manchester City to Chelsea this summer, the 21-year-old had never scored a goal in the league.
Palmer also has nine assists in his 28 Premier League games this season, a chance conversion rate of 33% and a high shooting accuracy of 67%, level with Newcastle’s Alexander Isak. Both in-form strikers score a goal on average every 104 minutes played.
Seven months later, the England star could be on track to finish as the division’s top scorer.
From super sub to main man
Back in November Palmer told BBC Sport he moved from his boyhood club to west London in search of “regular playing time”.
He made 25 appearances for Manchester City last season, of which he started just seven. In return this campaign he has already scored 25 goals, in an impressive 43 matches.
The £42 million move was apparently worth it for both Palmer and his employers. He is a pillar of Mauricio Pochettino’s team and has scored the most league goals in a season for the Blues since Diego Costa also scored 20 in 2016-17.
Chelsea still have seven league games remaining.
“You expect him to perform well, but he’s performing fantastically and doing really well for the team,” Chelsea manager Pochettino told BBC Match of the Day. “I’m happy he’s scored four goals .”
How Palmer punished Everton’s defense
Palmer scored his first three goals superbly, with his left foot, his head and his right foot, to score the fastest ‘perfect’ Premier League hat-trick since Gracenote began recording such data in 2008-09.
He opened the scoring in the 13th minute when he curled a fine shot into the bottom corner after finding Everton defender Jarrad Branthwaite and playing a one-two with teammate Nicolas Jackson.
Five minutes later he added a second, heading in a rebound after Jackson’s shot had been saved by Everton goalkeeper Jordan Pickford.
The hat-trick was completed in style midway through the first half after he intercepted a poor Pickford pass before hurling the ball past the England goalkeeper from 40 yards out.
And after the restart he won a penalty and calmly scored the fourth penalty.
“Everything happens so quickly,” Palmer told Sky Sports. “The first one was my favorite, my right foot was a bit of a swinger!”
Even if Palmer hints at some fortune, his four-goal tally means the Mancunian now boasts some formidable statistics:
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Palmer became the first Chelsea player to score a first-half hat-trick in the Premier League and only the second player to score three goals in consecutive Premier League home games for the club, after Didier Drogba in May/August 2010.
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He became the first Chelsea player to score in seven consecutive Premier League games at Stamford Bridge.
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He is only the third player to score more than 20 goals in his debut Premier League season for Chelsea, after Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink (23 goals in 2000-01) and Diego Costa (20 goals in 2014-15).
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And he has converted all nine of the penalties he has scored in the Premier League, with only Yaya Toure (11/11) boasting the best 100% penalty conversion rate in the competition’s history.
Who could challenge Palmer for the Golden Boot?
The obvious answer is Erling Haaland, who broke records last season, scoring 36 goals in 35 games. But Haaland is, for him at least, in good form, having scored just two goals in his last eight appearances for City and Norway.
Ollie Watkins managed one less goal than Palmer and Haaland. His 19 goals are the most ever in a Premier League campaign for his club Aston Villa, equaling Christian Benteke’s tally from 2012-13.
Three goals behind the first is Liverpool striker Mohamed Salah, a three-time Golden Boot winner. Salah’s 17 goals mean the Egyptian is level with Bournemouth’s Dominic Solanke and Newcastle’s Alexander Isak.
Son Heung-min, from Tottenham, and Jarrod Bowen, from West Ham, are outsiders with 15 hits each.
Palmer is the league’s most in-form goalscorer, having scored 11 goals in his last six games in all competitions. Who would turn against him?
‘Palmer to England?’ – What did you say
Brand: Go ahead, hands up – who put Ollie Watkins and Cole Palmer there to win the golden boot? No?
Account: Can Southgate afford to leave Palmer at home? Palmer joining Foden and Bellingham in midfield with Rice behind them?
Andrew: Cole Palmer could be Harry Kane’s next English successor. He is so clinical when he scores the goal. Oh, and he can score penalties.
Josue: Cole Palmer to England then, right?
User: Everyone has been talking about building the England team around Phil Foden… When did we start talking about building it around Cole Palmer who is doing it in a team without the quality that Man City have around him?
