Cole Palmer
Cole Palmer interview with Nicolas Jackson post Chelsea’s win at Tottenham on Monday night got Blues supporters talking about the former’s brilliant mentality
Every striker needs a hat-trick, but Nicolas Jackson needed one more than most. Against Chelsea’s arch rivals Tottenham as well? That is a dream come true.
Coming into the game on Monday evening Jackson was at the centre of a lot of criticism from Chelsea fans. The 22-year-old striker, who arrived in the summer transfer window for £30million, had just two goals to his name in nine Premier League appearances.
There had been plenty of criticism around Jackson’s composure in front of goal and at times his wastefulness. There were even times on Monday where he perhaps needed to compose himself a little bit more, but more significantly Jackson netted his first hat-trick for Chelsea since moving from Spain.
Chelsea owners want answers from sporting director Paul Winstanley.
Yes it was against nine men after Tottenham picked up two red cards either side of half-time. Yes it was against a ludicrously high line given the circumstances and how the game was unfolding. But that will mean very little to Jackson.
His Chelsea teammates will be delighted he is back in the goals, too, whatever the circumstances. Cole Palmer, who scored his third goal for the club since arriving in the summer on Monday night, has been the man creating the majority of opportunities for Jackson. And he knows, despite his hat-trick, his teammate can do a lot better.
“Obviously it’s been a difficult start for him, there’s no hiding it, but he was brilliant tonight,” Palmer said to Sky Sports on Jackson. “He needs to work hard on the training pitch and I think he will get many more hat-tricks.”
When asked ‘did you say work harder?’, Palmer responded emphatically: “Of course, you always need to work harder!” A sort of leadership mentality that is very rare with someone – at 21-years-old – so young.
Cole Palmer has clearly inherited Pep Guardiola’s perfectionist mentality from his days at Manchester City. Guardiola is one of the best managers in world football and his attention to detail is what sets him apart from the rest. He will never settle for ‘good’, he always wants ‘great’ and it has clearly rubbed off on Palmer.
There has already been plenty of question marks over Jackson and whether he has the ingredients to become the long-term No.9 option for Chelsea. The Blues will look to add another central striker to their ranks when the January transfer window opens, eprodity.com understands, with Brentford’s Ivan Toney on their radar.
Toney will return from his lengthy ban at the beginning of 2024 and sources close to the striker’s camp have indicated that he wishes to move on from the Bees. Chelsea and Arsenal are said to be right at the front of the queue for the England international as they both seek to solve their issues up front.
If Jackson continues to follow Palmer’s advice, though, then he could solve a big problem for Chelsea when January rolls around. There are reports stating that Brentford want as much as much as £100million for their striker’s services.
However, if Jackson can kick on between now and January and really build up some form, then Chelsea may be tempted to wait until the summer transfer window to sign a striker. Usually in the summer, where clubs are more open to selling their players, they will be able to get better deals, in terms of value for money.
