Paul Merson believes Cole Palmer will struggle to replicate his form from last season and isn’t sure if the forward will score 15 goals.
Palmer took the Premier League by storm following his deadline day from Manchester City last summer, scoring 22 goals and providing 11 assists which saw him named Premier League Young Player of the Year.
The 22-year-old has been rewarded for his fine debut season with a new two year contract on improved terms keeping him at Stamford Bridge until 2033, with Chelsea announcing the deal on Tuesday evening.
Merson’s warning for Palmer
Palmer played his first minutes of pre-season for the Blues as he came on as half time substitute in last Sunday’s 1-1 draw against Inter Milan.
The Blues will be expecting the England international to deliver the goods for them again this season and they face Manchester City in their opening game on Sunday.
However, Merson believes this season could be difficult for Palmer and questioned the decision to give him a new contract.
“He’s had an unbelievable season and he is a good player but this season every [opposition] team talk is going to be ‘Stop Cole Palmer playing,'” he told Sky Sports.
“He’s got that now the whole time. And now you’re giving him a nine-year contract?
“I’m not sure [he will score 15 goals]. Last season he was unreal. This season he is marked.
“We’ve seen it a million times, like with [Emmanuel] Adebayor. He ripped it up at Arsenal, got a new contract and was marked.
“It’s going to be hard. If he gets 15 goals next season I’ll be like “wow, fair play to you”. 15 is a lot of goals.”
It will be interesting to see how Palmer adapts to the increased attention that will be on him from the opposition in every game, but given how he’s taken everything in his stride so far in his career it would be stupid to bet against him making an impact again next season.