Can Cole Palmer rediscover his best form? So far this season, the England international, partially due to injuries, has scored just five goals across all competitions. In fact, excluding penalties, he has netted only twice in the Premier League since 14 January last year.
He was simply electrifying when he first arrived at Chelsea, as well as generally pretty impactful last season too, but has been unable to live up to those expectations this time round.
Cole Palmer season-by-season Chelsea statistics
Statistics | 2023/24 | 2024/25 | 2025/26 |
|---|---|---|---|
Minutes | 3,613 | 4,247 | 984 |
Goals | 25 | 18 | 5 |
PL goals | 22 | 15 | 4 |
Assists | 15 | 14 | 2 |
Matches missed due to injury | 1 | 1 | 22 |
Should Chelsea manage to reach the final of every competition this season, they would play 28 more matches. Even if Palmer played every minute of every game henceforth, accumulating another 2,520 minutes, he would still have only featured for 100 fewer minutes than his debut campaign at the club, when they had no European football, as well as 743 minutes less than last season.
Thus, this campaign had continuously been disrupted by injuries to Palmer, meaning he is currently not a player Liam Rosenior can build his team around at this early stage of his Chelsea tenure. So, who is establishing themselves as the Blues' most-reliable attacker?
Chelsea's star excelling in attack under Liam Rosenior
It has been a very productive week for striker João Pedro. His second-half double in Naples last Wednesday turned the game around as Chelsea reached the Champions League round of 16 by defeating Napoli 3-2. He then got Saturday's comeback started against West Ham, with the Brazilian having now netted in all three Premier League matches under Rosenior.
João Pedro's Chelsea 2025/26 statistics
Statistics | João Pedro | Chelsea rank |
|---|---|---|
Minutes | 2,251 | 7th |
Goals | 12 | 1st |
Assists | 5 | 2nd |
Shots | 48 | 4th |
Shots on target | 23 | 2nd |
Big chances missed | 7 | 2nd |
Big chances created | 5 | 4th |
Top speed | 33.1 km/h | 3rd |
Pedro's exploits during the last week or so mean he is now Chelsea's leading scorer across all competitions. He also ranks highly compared to his teammates when it comes to chances created and shooting; 47.9% of his shots have found the target, the highest percentage of anyone to have had seven or more shots on target.
The 24-year-old is proving to be the all-round centre-forward, offering a penalty box presence, while also able to combine with those alongside him. His previous highest tally of goals in a Premier League season is the ten bagged for Brighton last year, requiring only two more to smash that.
So, while fellow forwards such as Pedro Neto, Estêvão Willian, Alejandro Garnacho, Jamie Gittens and Liam Delap, as well as the aforementioned Palmer, are all battling it out for starting minutes, Pedro's spot appears pretty unimpeachable. He scored home and away against Arsenal for the Seagulls last season, so could he be Chelsea's Carabao Cup hero on Tuesday night?