Joe Cole backs 'ridiculous' Cole Palmer to overcome 'dry spell' at Chelsea - 'Needs to be calm'
By Ben Southby
Published 14/03/2025 at 12:43 GMT
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Joe Cole has full belief that Cole Palmer will find his best goal-scoring form sooner rather than later, as the forward is on a run of 10 games without a goal. The 22-year-old has 14 goals this season, but his golden touch has dried up in recent weeks. But Cole insisted that the poor form is "part of his journey". The former Blues midfielder also praised midfielder Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall.
'Not a normal player' - Maresca praises Palmer after penalty double
Video credit: SNTV
Former Chelsea star Joe Cole has no doubts that the misfiring Cole Palmer will get through the "dry spell" he is currently experiencing and insisted it is "part of his journey".
Palmer has 14 Premier League goals this season, but has failed to find the net for seven straight top-flight games for the first time in his Blues career.
Speaking on TNT Sports after Chelsea moved past Copenhagen to reach the quarter-finals of the UEFA Conference League, Cole said: "It's part of his journey.
"What he's done in the last year, 18 months at Chelsea, that's ridiculous what he's done.
"He's going through a little dry spell. He'll have loads of spells like this in his career, not as many as other players because he's a top, top player, but his head will hit the pillow tonight and he'll go, 'I should have done that, should have passed it, should have done that'.
"He just needs to be calm, smooth."
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'This is part of his journey' - Cole insists recent Palmer dry spell 'will end'
Video credit: TNT Sports
Fellow TNT Sports expert Eni Aluko said that she does not believe the England international will dwell on his current form.
"He doesn't strike me as the kind of lad who will lose sleep over it," she told TNT Sports.
"He strikes me as, 'Listen, I've got this'. I think that would be worse if he's overthinking it and he looks tense, but he doesn't look like it's bothering him too much."
Cole slightly argued the point by saying "you don't know what's going on in his head".
"He looks like the coolest man in the room, like he's never going to be bothered about anything, but you don't know," he pointed out.
"It could be affecting him, but what he needs to know is that it will end. It sounds mad [that] Cole Palmer needs to be calm, but he needs to be."
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Cole 'always impressed' with 'talented' Dewsbury-Hall
It has been a tough start to life at Chelsea for Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall, who has played just eight times in the Premier League following his switch from Leicester City last summer.
The midfielder, however, has been given plenty of minutes in the Conference League and scored his third goal of the tournament on Thursday against Copenhagen.
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'It was all about him!' - Dewsbury-Hall fires Chelsea ahead with sublime finish
Video credit: TNT Sports
Cole told TNT Sports that he feels the Englishman can play at a "very, very high level" if his future is away from west London.
"He's too good a player to be playing 10, 15 games a year at his age," Cole said. "Maybe in seven, eight, nine years' time, maybe that might suit him as you're coming down a little bit.
"He needs to play football because he's such a good, talented footballer. The decision will probably be his at the end of the season: What does he do? Does he go and find his football somewhere else?
"Every time I watch him, I like him, and I think to myself as a manager and as a coach, you want him in your team. I think he can play at a very, very high level. [There is] big competition in the midfield at Chelsea, but [I'm] always impressed with him."
TNT Sports will show over 500 matches from the UEFA Champions League, the UEFA Europa League and the UEFA Conference League across the 2024/25 season. The streaming home for TNT Sports in the UK is discovery+, where fans can enjoy a subscription that includes TNT Sports and entertainment in one destination.
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