Cole Palmer, 22 (Chelsea)
A team would have to be pretty near perfect to deem Palmer surplus to requirements but such is Manchester City’s level they could not find a regular place for him. Still, the attacking midfielder’s £42m move from Manchester City to Chelsea has worked out for all parties – giving City some financial fair play wriggle room while bestowing upon Chelsea a shining light in another muddled season. Palmer is the main reason Mauricio Pochettino’s side managed a top-half place. The City academy graduate has combined crowd-pleasing flicks and tricks with a ruthless, determined streak illustrated by the manner in which he has supplanted Raheem Sterling (and the squabbling Nicolas Jackson and Noni Madueke for that matter) as the club’s penalty taker. His nerveless conversion of the equaliser in Chelsea’s 4-4 rollercoaster against City in November should have settled that argument and beyond that his 22 league goals and 11 assists have made him the most important creative player at Stamford Bridge. His former manager Pep Guardiola described him as “the most decisive player of the season” last month. Now his current one needs to build something cohesive around him next term.
