Chelsea urged to reintegrate Nicolas Jackson to get the best out of Cole Palmer | OneFootball

Former Chelsea defender Scott Minto has put Cole Palmer’s underwhelming 2025/26 campaign down to the missing partnership with Nicolas Jackson.

Palmer struggled to impress for Chelsea last season, returning just 10 goals in 26 Premier League appearances and 11 in 34 games in all competitions.

That was a less productive season by his high standards, and it cost him a place in Thomas Tuchel’s England squad for the 2026 World Cup.

There have been several opinions on why Palmer failed to produce for Chelsea.

Even though he struggled with injury problems, Minto believes that Jackson’s loan move to Bayern Munich had a significant impact on Palmer’s form.

Jackson was shipped off to the Bundesliga after falling out with former Chelsea manager Enzo Maresca.

He ended up helping the Bavarians retain the Bundesliga crown by producing identical numbers to Palmer’s for Chelsea, despite playing second fiddle to Harry Kane throughout the campaign.

While Jackson has often faced criticism for missing chances, Minto believes the striker’s movement and ability to stretch opposition defences created opportunities that benefited Palmer.

Speaking on talkSPORT, Minto said: “In terms of Cole Palmer, I also think perhaps, and people made fun of him, but he’s missed Nicolas Jackson.

“Jackson misses a lot of chances, but he can cause absolute havoc and makes fantastic runs for Cole Palmer just to look up and play him in behind or slip him in.”

Palmer enjoyed a sensational debut campaign after joining Chelsea in 2023, bagging 27 goals and 15 assists in 48 appearances across all competitions.

His partnership with Jackson produced a combined 52 goal contributions in the Premier League during the same campaign, making them one of the league’s most influential duos.

Palmer has since struggled to reach similar heights in a Chelsea shirt, but he may have to find a way around it without Jackson, whose future at Stamford Bridge is far from secure.

The Senegalese forward is willing to stick around under new manager Xabi Alonso, but only if he receives guarantees that he will be considered the club’s first-choice striker.