Recently, Chelsea’s Cole Palmer missed a penalty in a match against Leicester City. This was surprising because he had previously scored all 17 penalties he took as a professional player. This miss highlights a dip in form for Palmer.
Palmer, who is 22, joined Chelsea from Manchester City in August 2023 for £42.5m. He quickly became a key player in the Premier League. However, he has now gone nine games without scoring or assisting a goal.
Chelsea’s manager, Enzo Maresca, has been concerned about the team relying too much on Palmer for goals. He has encouraged other players to contribute more to the attack.
One player who has stepped up is Pedro Neto. He has been performing well in recent weeks.
Pedro Neto’s Recent Form
Neto’s start at Chelsea was slow, but he has improved significantly lately. He has been involved in four of his seven Premier League goals in the last five games.
Chelsea bought Neto from Wolves for £54m last summer. Initially, he didn’t play much, starting only two of the first seven league games.
With Palmer struggling and Nicolas Jackson injured, Neto has impressed in a central attacking role. Some journalists believe this new position could be key to his Chelsea career.
However, Neto’s move to the center has created a shortage of wingers for Chelsea, especially since Christopher Nkunku and Jadon Sancho haven’t performed consistently.
This situation makes Chelsea’s decision to sell a winger in 2023 look like a mistake. This player could have been a good option for Maresca’s team now.
Chelsea May Regret Selling £3m Winger
Chelsea has made some questionable transfer decisions, especially considering their current injury problems. One such decision is selling Callum Hudson-Odoi to Nottingham Forest for only £3m in 2023.
Callum Hudson-Odoi, 24, is a very talented English winger. Chelsea sold him for a low price despite rejecting a £70m offer from Bayern Munich for him in 2020. Injuries had affected his Chelsea career.
While it seemed like Hudson-Odoi had no future at Chelsea, his good performances for Forest suggest that Chelsea might have been too quick to let him go. They could have loaned him out to help him regain his form.
| Hudson-Odoi – Last 6 Seasons (League Only) | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Season | League | Club | Apps (Starts) | Goals | Assists |
| 24/25 | Premier League | Nott’m Forest | 24 (21) | 5 | 2 |
| 23/24 | Bundesliga | Nott’m Forest | 29 (20) | 8 | 1 |
| 22/23 | Premier League | Leverkusen | 14 (7) | 0 | 1 |
| 21/22 | Premier League | Chelsea | 15 (11) | 1 | 2 |
| 20/21 | Premier League | Chelsea | 23 (10) | 2 | 3 |
| 19/20 | Premier League | Chelsea | 22 (7) | 1 | 5 |
Hudson-Odoi is a skillful winger who can play on either side. He is highly rated in the Premier League for his passing and dribbling ability.
Statistically, Hudson-Odoi is similar to Pedro Neto, which further suggests he could have been successful in Maresca’s Chelsea team.
Nottingham Forest is having a great season and is aiming for Champions League qualification. Hudson-Odoi has been a key player for them.
His recent winning goal against Manchester City could be crucial in the league standings, a race where Chelsea is also competing.
Hudson-Odoi is now showing his potential in the Premier League under manager Nuno Espirito Santo. Some coaches even say he is currently one of the best players in Europe.
He might be proving that he is good enough to be a regular starter for a top club like Chelsea, and become a fan favorite as a homegrown talent.
Vihaan Mehrotra