Chelsea told surprising new reason for Cole Palmer struggles this season | OneFootball

Blues talisman has failed to hit the same lofty heights at Stamford Bridge so far this term

Nicolas Jackson’s departure is a key reason why Cole Palmer is struggling at Chelsea, claims Paul Merson.

Palmer has yet to approach the heights of his superb first two seasons at Stamford Bridge, having been heavily impacted by a long-standing groin injury and other toe and thigh problems.

He has completed a full 90 minutes just a handful of times so far this term and made only 12 starts across all competitions, scoring five goals and providing two assists.

Palmer was back on the bench on Tuesday night as Chelsea were beaten by Arsenal in the second leg of their Carabao Cup semi-final tie, though head coach Liam Rosenior insists he is available to start in Saturday’s trip to face bottom club Wolves in the Premier League.

Many reasons have been put forward for Palmer’s failure to replicate that sparkling form from his opening two campaigns in west London that followed a switch from Manchester City, primarily a recurring groin problem suffered in the summer that lingered for months and caused him to miss two-and-a-half months as well as impacting him both before and after that absence.

However, Arsenal legend Merson - a lifelong Chelsea fan - has now posited a more surprising theory, that Palmer is actually being affected by the exit of striker Jackson, who was loaned to Bayern Munich last summer after a dramatic transfer saga on a deal that will become permanent if he makes a set number of appearances for the Bundesliga champions this season.

“I like Palmer, but Palmer misses Jackson,” Merson said on the latest episode of The Overlap’s Stick to Football podcast, alongside Gary Neville, Paul Scholes, Jill Scott, Roy Keane and Ian Wright.

“Jackson made Palmer, and Palmer made Jackson. People used to slaughter Jackson, ‘oh he’s no good, he misses chances’.

“You’d love to play with Jackson, because he always went that way [points to the left]. He’s like you Wrighty, do you know what I mean? He’d come and he’d go.

“When they go like that, everybody drops off and then I’m the [number] 10, I can get on the ball. You watch Palmer now, he puts his foot on the ball and there’s nothing there.

“Joao Pedro wants to come this way [back] and there’s no movement.”