Chelsea legend Gianfranco Zola predicts a bright future for Cole Palmer

Chelsea legend Gianfranco Zola has expressed his belief that current Stamford Bridge star Cole Palmer has the potential to win the prestigious Ballon d’Or in the future.

Palmer enjoyed an extraordinary first season at Chelsea following a £40m move from Manchester City and has continued his impressive form this term.

The 22-year-old scored 25 goals across the 2023-24 campaign, winning the Premier League Young Player of the Season award and earning a call-up to England’s squad for Euro 2024.

Palmer has already proven his stunning debut season was no flash in the pan, scoring seven goals and making five assists in nine league games.

England’s surprise Player of the Year produced another influential performance on Sunday as Chelsea beat Newcastle United 2-1, scoring the winner shortly after half-time and making a sublime pass in the build-up to Nicolas Jackson’s opener.

‘The pass he made to Pedro Neto for the first goal – it was a brilliant pass,’ Zola told the Daily Mirror before going on to explain why Palmer can be a genuine Ballon d’Or contender.

‘I see a lot of things like this that I used to work on in his game. Being able to see the pass before you receive the ball. That is one skill he is developing a lot.

‘I saw this skill a lot yesterday and I am impressed because the majority of players, they want to be able to do something when they have received the ball.

‘But actually, if you know what you are going to do with the ball before you receive it, it is like you are putting yourself ahead of the opposition.

‘I was really impressed with him. I promise you that one of the biggest compliments I can pay to a player is this type of quality.

‘He needs to work a lot on his game, of course, because he is still young and there are things that can make him better.

‘One thing for sure he can work on is his physique. He can get a little bit faster and maybe a little bit stronger in one-on-ones. I know his mind is very quick. He will have to get his body a little bit quicker.

‘But seeing him when he first played for Chelsea and seeing him now, I can see how much ground he has covered, I can see him also covering other ground.

‘If he does that, he can be in contention for the Ballon d’Or because the numbers and the skills are there. There is still work to do but potentially he can do that.

‘He has a very, very good coach to work with in Enzo Maresca and I am sure he will make sure he works on that.’

Chelsea are fifth in the Premier League after nine games, one point outside the Champions League places and six adrift of current leaders Manchester City.

Zola, who scored 80 goals for Chelsea and won two FA Cups during his seven-year spell at the club, insists he ‘really likes’ what he sees from Maresca’s side.

‘I see the team has a strategy – they know what to do,’ the ex-Italy international added. ‘Defensively they will have to improve a little bit more but I see something going on.

‘I really like it. It is something that the players have been working on in training. They like what they are doing and they are doing very well.’

On Monday night, Manchester City and Spain midfielder Rodri won the men’s Ballon d’Or award for the first time ahead of Real Madrid and Brazil winger Vinicius Jr.

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