Nine games without a goal or an assist. For most Premier League players, that's a run that might raise a few eyebrows. For Cole Palmer — a man who generated 40 goal contributions in his debut Chelsea season and made the whole of English football feel like it had discovered something special — it's a problem that needs explaining. The 23-year-old missed a penalty against Nottingham Forest at the weekend and looked visibly disconnected for much of the match. Something is clearly not right.
The numbers over his Chelsea career tell a jarring story. In his first 66 games at Stamford Bridge, Palmer scored 37 and assisted 21. In the 61 games since, he's managed 16 goals and 10 assists. That's not a minor dip — that's less than half the output. The first season looked like an elite player arriving. The stretch since has looked more like a talented player fighting to recapture form he may have lost for reasons that go beyond statistics.
Injury, context, or something deeper?
There are mitigating factors. Palmer has reportedly been carrying a knock for part of this season, which would go some way toward explaining why he looks reluctant to drive at defenders the way he once did. Chelsea's internal chaos hasn't helped either — the club has been through a turbulent year both on and off the pitch, and that kind of environment rarely produces consistent individual performances. But injury and bad luck only explain so much. At some point, the form has to come from within.
The missed penalty against Forest was the kind of moment that amplifies everything. Palmer had been so reliable from the spot in his first season that it almost became a running joke — opponents knew it was coming, and it still didn't matter. Now there's hesitation, and that's a different player entirely. The body language after the miss was telling: no anger, no frustration directed outward. Just a quiet, inward-looking frustration that suggested this current run has got to him.
What Chelsea need from him now
Three or four games remain in the Premier League season, and Chelsea still need points to cement their finishing position. Enzo Maresca has been reluctant to drop Palmer publicly, which suggests he still believes in the player — or at least knows that a Palmer in bad form is still better than most alternatives. But Chelsea need him to stop thinking and start playing. The overthinking is visible from the stands. The best version of Palmer didn't calculate; he reacted. Getting back to that, before the summer, matters more than people might realise — because there will be questions this summer about his role at the club, and the answers need to come with the ball at his feet, not in a press conference.
Season stats: Cole Palmer, 23, Chelsea. 2025/26: 10 goals, 3 assists in 30 appearances. Previous season: 22 goals, 15 assists in 34 appearances. Last goal contribution: approx. 9 games ago.
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