Chelsea are into the final of the Club World Cup in the United States where they could net a staggering £97million if they beat Paris Saint-Germain – while Cole Palmer is the man of the moment
Cole Palmer has found himself plastered all over billboards in New York.
And now Chelsea ’s “amazing” talisman is determined to live up to the hype – even if he taking it all in his stride. Chelsea star Palmer is one of the faces of the Club World Cup and part of Nike’s advertising campaign along with the likes of Vinicius Junior, Erling Haaland and Kylian Mbappe.
The slogan reads “Scary Good” and Palmer has gained a reputation for being a big game player after his man-of-the-match display to virtually win the Europa Conference League final by himself. Now Sunday will provide an even bigger setting in the 80,000 capacity MetLife Stadium which will host the first new-look Club World Cup final.
They must overcome reigning European champions Paris Saint Germain with a £97m jackpot at stake but Palmer will be determined to live up to the tag on those billboards plastered all over Times Square, Manhattan and beyond. Chelsea defender Levi Colwill said: “He’s scary good – to say the least. He’s an amazing player. That billboard suits him perfectly well.
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“It’s amazing, seeing him everywhere around New York. It’s surreal and I’m happy for him. I think he’s seen them but you know Cole. He’s not really blown away by much and I think that’s what keeps him going.
“We’re all excited to be in the final. It’s a huge competition and to be the first finalists is amazing. But we haven’t just come here to be in the final, we want to win the competition.” Chelsea are big underdogs against the flair and style of Luis Enrique’s PSG who have been in sensational form throughout this tournament.
The likes of Ousmane Dembele, Khvicha Kvaratskhelia, Vitinha and Nuno Mendes have blown everyone away and they are certainly the team that FIFA would have wanted in their first new-look Club World Cup final. It has been an interesting journey for Chelsea and they do not have the superstars of PSG but Palmer is the standout player for Enzo Maresca’s team.
But Colwill believes Chelsea have come of age in the competition, have grown through the rounds and success will put them back on the map and back among Europe’s heavyweights. And Colwill also says, for the players, the prestige and the trophy is bigger than the prize money of a tournament which has often been more entertaining and popular than some expected. And there is definitely a template there for the future.
Colwill added: “Winning the Europa Conference League helps a lot. This will be our second final of the season. It shows how far we’ve come. We really do believe in ourselves. Hopefully we win this and many more finals in the future. This is huge. It’s the first tournament and to put yourself in the history books would be really good for the team and build confidence going into the future.
“You have to respect how they press, how they play but we’re not going to change our whole way to play them. We’ve got our plan, our identity which we’re going to stick to through the gaffer and that’s when we play our best football so let’s stick to it. We’ve got this far with playing our football so why are we going to change that now? We believe in ourselves and we want to try to prove that’s the way to do so.
“If you turn the game into a basketball match in this heat, it’s not going to help anyone. You have to control the ball way more, pick the right times to attack and try to score. And above that, keep the ball. If everyone thinks we’re going to lose then we’ve got nothing to lose. We’re going to go out there, play our football, be confident and hopefully surprise everyone.”
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