Chelsea’s Cole Palmer ‘still adapting’ as Blues target European finish - ‘Hopefully just the start’

Cole Palmer says he is “still adapting” to life at Chelsea following his summer move from Manchester City, despite hitting red-hot form for the Blues.

The midfielder scored twice and assisted the other in Chelsea’s nail-biting 3-2 win over Luton Town on Saturday as Mauricio Pochettino’s side almost blew a 3-0 lead.

The Hatters hit back with goals from former Chelsea player Ross Barkley and Elijah Adebayo to set up an electric finish, but the visitors managed to see out the game to end a disappointing 2023 on a high.

Leading up to the game, Pochettino claimed Palmer has a lot more to give as he continues to settle into his new life in London, which the 21-year-old agreed with.

“Hopefully just the start,” Palmer told TNT Sports. “I’m still adapting to the new life, if I can adapt to the new life as quickly as possible, my new team-mates, the city, everything.

“Everything’s new to me, so hopefully we can show more on the pitch.”

Palmer, who goes by the name of ‘Cold’ Palmer at Chelsea, according to Noni Madueke, has scored eight goals and provided four assists in the league so far this season.

One of those assists was for Madueke’s goal just before half-time as Chelsea doubled their lead.

Madueke, who also netted the decisive 89th-minute penalty in Chelsea’s 2-1 victory over Crystal Palace during the week, believes a European finish is still on the cards, despite currently sitting 10th in the table.

“I think we just take it one step at a time,” the 21-year-old said. “I remember talking after the Palace game, just about consistency.

“This is a difficult place to come, and now that’s two wins on the bounce, so that gives us confidence going into the new year.

“I feel like if we take every game at a time and try and improve, I feel like, yeah, we’ll be right in the mix for those [European] spots at the end of the season.”

Chelsea are not in Premier League action for another two weeks, when they will host city rivals Fulham at Stamford Bridge, live on TNT Sports, when they return.

In the meantime, they will try and continue to build momentum in the cup competitions.

They host Preston North End in the FA Cup next week before travelling north to face Middlesbrough in the first leg of the League Cup semi-final.

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