Chelsea must regret losing star who’s worth more than Palmer

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Chelsea’s wild recruitment under the ownership of Todd Boehly has often received a lot of flack and criticism with the American splashing over £1.2b on new additions.

The Blues have opted for a split strategy, spending some of the figures on upcoming youth talent, whilst also aiming to buy players to make an immediate impact on the first team at Stamford Bridge.

Numerous players have made a huge impression under boss Enzo Maresca after his appointment over the summer, helping the Italian make an excellent start to life as the Blues’ manager.

His side have only lost twice in the Premier League so far this campaign, whilst maintaining an unbeaten start to their Europa Conference League adventure.

Their good form in the league is mainly down to the standout form of one player, who’s continued his superb showings from the season prior.

Cole Palmer’s stats for Chelsea

Following his £40m transfer from rivals Manchester City last summer, very few people would’ve imagined the immediate impact that Cole Palmer would have on Chelsea’s first team.

The 22-year-old became a regular starter under former boss Mauricio Pochettino, with his form in front of goal undoubtedly saving the Blues’s season.

England international Palmer notched 33 combined goals and assists in as many games during 2023/24, achieving the highest tally of any player in the division.

Cole Palmer’s career stats since 2020/21
Season	Games	Goals	Assists
2020/21	2	0	0
2021/22	11	3	1
2022/23	25	1	1
2023/24	48	27	15
2024/25	10	6	5
Stats via Transfermarkt

However, after such an impressive debut year in West London, it was to be expected that he would endure a slight drop in form – especially after barely any rest over the summer break due to Euro 2024.

Despite this, the youngster has continued his incredible form, starting Maresca’s reign with a bang and continuing to star in the final third of the pitch.

Palmer has already registered six goals and five assists in eight appearances, which included a four-goal haul against Brighton at Stamford Bridge – making him the first player in the league’s history to score four times in the first half of a game.

However, despite his talismanic status in the Blue of Chelsea since his transfer, he’s still valued lower than one former player who departed the club as a youngster.

The former Chelsea ace who’s now worth more than Palmer

Winger Jamie Bynoe-Gittens was a part of the club’s Cobham academy setup as a youngster before departing for free to join Reading to further progress his career.

However, when a youngster departs at such a young age, it still takes a lot for them to develop into a world-class talent, but in this case, Bynoe-Gittens has done just that.

The “outrageous” 20-year-old, as dubbed by The Athletic’s Seb Stafford-Bloor, has since moved to Manchester City, before joining Borussia Dortmund back in 2020 – a decision that has allowed him to star this campaign.

During his first couple of seasons in the Bundesliga, he had to settle for a bit-part role often being utilised off the bench, but his fortunes have changed massively under new boss Yuri Sahin in 2024/25.

The former Chelsea ace has made 11 appearances this season, scoring five times, including against Real Madrid at the Bernabeu in the Champions League.

As a result, his market value has skyrocketed, with his current side now valuing the English star at €100m (£83.3m) – a figure that is higher than current Chelsea star Palmer, who’s only valued at £75m, as per Transfermarkt, despite his stellar form over the last 12 months.

It’s obviously amazing to see a former Cobham youngster reach the potential that many believed he had as a youngster – going on to achieve some phenomenal things at such a tender age.

However, there will undoubtedly be some disappointment within the club that they allowed Bynoe-Gittens to slip through the net, with his talents massively boosting Maresca’s attempts to secure the Blues a Champions League spot come the end of May.