CHELSEA LEGEND RUUD GULLIT SENDS WARNING TO COLE PALMER FOLLOWING MAN CITY REALITY CHECK

Ruud Gullit has been bowled over Cole Palmer's storming start to life at Chelsea - but insists the youngster's real test will come next season.

Palmer, 21, has plundered 20 Premier League goals in just 28 games since joining the Blues in a £42.5million summer deal and is level with Erling Haaland at the top of the goalscoring charts after blitzing 10 goals in his last five matches.

The Manchester City academy product will be out to sustain his red-hot against Arsenal on Tuesday night if passed fit after suffering with illness, but Gullit has stressed Palmer is still in his honeymoon period and will have to prove he is no one-season wonder.

"Palmer has fantastic numbers. He was a gift," the Laureus Academy member said ahead of Monday night's ceremony in Madrid. "He's come in this first year and played all the games, which is great because I like to watch him.

"I think he has huge potential, that's for sure. But he had a difficult time against Man City in the FA Cup semi-final. You forget he is still a kid. He is young and he's been huge for Chelsea this season but this is his honeymoon period.

"Let's see how he does after that. Let's see what happens next year because there will be real pressure [to deliver again]. The team as a whole has to improve a lot next year too."

While Palmer has proved to be an inspired signing, Chelsea's £1billion spending splurge under Todd Boehly and Clearlake Capital has not yielded the desired results on the pitch with the Londoners sitting ninth in the Premier League.

Plenty of players who have arrived at Stamford Bridge for big money simply haven't delivered and are on long-term contracts spanning at least six years. While Gullit doesn't blame Mauricio Pochettino for Chelsea's current plight, he feels the Blues head coach is responsible, while Boehly's approach has also not helped matters.

He added: "There's a lack of quality [in the squad]. Do I blame Pochettino? No. But he is responsible because he knew what he was getting into when he took the job.

"He needs another chance but he needs to get it right. He's already changed formations, at the beginning 3-4-3 and now 4-2-3-1, so he's looking for the solutions. But the worrying part is a lack of quality.

"When you come into something new [like Boehly] you need to come in with a different mentality. This is football in England, it's a total new ball game. It's not easy.

"They've got lots of players on five or six year contracts, so I really hope they start getting better. But when you have so many of them [then] you're asking a lot."

The 25th Laureus World Sports Awards took place on Monday evening in Madrid. To find out more, and follow the ceremony, visit www.laureus.com.

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2024-04-23T05:44:58Z dg43tfdfdgfd