Tuesday, November 12, 2024 - 04:48:29 PM

Martin Keown Compares Cole Palmer to De Bruyne

Sports, Blog
|
January 14, 2024

Martin Keown, the legendary figure from Arsenal, has drawn parallels between Chelsea's rising star, Cole Palmer, and Manchester City's maestro Kevin De Bruyne. Keown's comments came in the wake of Palmer's standout performance that played a pivotal role in Chelsea's crucial 1-0 victory against Fulham at Stamford Bridge over the weekend.

Following a surprising 1-0 loss to Middlesbrough in the EFL Cup midweek, Chelsea bounced back with their third consecutive Premier League win. Palmer's impact on the pitch was undeniable, catching the attention of Keown, who remarked on the young England star's exceptional vision, coining it as 'helicopter vision,' a quality reminiscent of De Bruyne.

Palmer's significant contribution unfolded in the first half's stoppage time when the 21-year-old delivered a remarkable through ball to Raheem Sterling. The well-timed pass led to Sterling being fouled in the box, earning Chelsea a penalty. Palmer confidently converted from the spot, marking his fifth successful penalty of the season and securing all three points for the west London side.

Keown said (via MB5 Malaysia):

Palmer played a De Bruyne-like pass, it’s the kind of pass we hadn’t seen in this game yet. Palmer sees these opportunities on the pitch. We talk about a helicopter vision of the game from De Bruyne, and I think Palmer has that as well. I think Palmer is the one young player here who sees himself with that calmness. It was never in doubt [scoring the penalty], he’s so confident in front of goal. It’s been a game where Chelsea have totally dominated but haven’t shown any composure, but there was plenty on view from Palmer there. They should call him Cold Palmer.

Keown praised Palmer's impressive statistics and suggested that Guardiola might have erred in allowing the midfielder to depart:

Palmer’s statistics are phenomenal – there’s only Jude Bellingham ahead of him as an Under-21 player throughout Europe, it’s incredible and he’s done it without us really noticing. He’s icy cool. When you see him take the penalty you can see him sort of going, ‘Fantastic, this is my moment, give us the ball’ – a lot of other players would be shirking that responsibility. Would you say Pep got this wrong? Should he have allowed him to come here to Chelsea?

Last summer, Palmer made the switch from Manchester City to Chelsea in a reported £40 million transfer. In his 21 appearances across various competitions, the winger has demonstrated his prowess by scoring eight goals and delivering seven assists for the Blues. Keown commended Palmer's remarkable performance, raising questions about Guardiola's decision to let go of such a talented player.

Share via:
Contact Us