Palmer 'back to his best' with Alonso's freedom

Cole Palmer says this is the best he has felt "in ages" after starting the season strongly under Xabi Alonso at Chelsea - and he is putting the tricky previous campaign behind him. <p>The 24-year-old endured a difficult 2025-26 season, picking up a groin issue which saw him play just twice between August and December.</p><p>And while he ended up with 10 Premier League goals, a run of one goal in eight games to end the campaign saw him miss out on England's World Cup squad.</p><p>Palmer put that disappointment behind him on Monday as he got off the mark in the Blues' opener against Fulham en route to a 3-2 win. His performance was a reminder of his star quality.</p><widget id="3"></widget><p>"Physically I feel good, probably the best I've felt in ages, but I think I can [get fitter] with games and more minutes," Palmer told <em>Sky Sports</em>.</p><p>"Before my groin injury, I'd never really been injured. Well, rarely [injured]. So then I would just come back and play when I shouldn't have played.</p><ul><li><a href="https://qrcode.skysports.com/TransfersSkySportsApp" target="_blank"><strong>Transfer Centre LIVE!</strong></a><strong> | </strong><a href="https://qrcode.skysports.com/skysports/Chelsblogarticles" target="_blank"><strong>Chelsea news & transfers</strong></a>\ud83d\udd35</li><li><a href="https://qrcode.skysports.com/Chelseascores" target="_blank"><strong>Chelsea fixtures & scores</strong></a><strong> | </strong><a href="https://qrcode.skysports.com/skysports/FreePLHighlightsFirst" target="_blank"><strong>FREE Chelsea highlights</strong></a>\u25b6\ufe0f</li><li><strong>Got Sky? </strong><a href="https://qrcode.skysports.com/skysports/WatchPremarticles" target="_blank"><strong>Watch Premier League games LIVE on your phone</strong></a>\ud83d\udcf1</li><li><strong>Not got Sky? </strong><a href="https://www.sky.com/tv/sports?dcmp=Ilc_skysports_nc_articlelink" target="_blank"><strong>Latest Sky Sports deals</strong></a><strong> or </strong><a href="https://www.nowtv.com/membership/watch-sky-sports/football/premier-league?DCMP=ilc_skysports_nc_articlelink" target="_blank"><strong>stream PL games with no contract</strong></a>\ud83d\udcfa</li></ul><p>"Obviously the World Cup was coming up, so I was in a bit of a dilemma thinking: 'if I don't play I'm not going to go. But if I play then, I can't play [properly]'.</p> <widget id="4"></widget><p>"It was just a bit of a sticky situation. I didn't really know how to deal with it, but it's one of those things. I was just seeing different people, getting different ideas of why I was injured and what it was.</p><p>"Since I've come back I've been working every day to obviously stop it happening again. I just want to stay injury free, and if I'm on the pitch then I know what I can do."</p> <widget id="7"></widget><h3>Alonso giving Palmer the keys to freedom</h3><p>While it is early days, Palmer appears to have been given the license to express himself once again under Alonso.</p><p>At times during the tenures of Enzo Maresca and Liam Rosenior, suggestions were made that Palmer was being shackled as a result of more rigid systems. He even alluded to that himself, but revealed it was no longer the case following conversations with his new boss.</p> <widget id="5"></widget><p>"He [Alonso] just said I'd have more freedom to drift about the pitch. Just like you saw [against Fulham] with the goal I scored.</p><p>"Last season, I wouldn't have even made that run because it's not a 'safe zone'. But he's saying move across that zone, drop into play, come get on the ball, create and just do what you do."</p><p>That new sense of freedom could help forge lethal attacking trio of Palmer, <strong>Joao Pedro</strong> and new signing <strong>Morgan Rogers</strong>. All three scored at Craven Cottage and have since been dubbed 'JP Morgan.'</p><p>While Palmer is absolutely not a fan of the name, he is excited by the budding relationship between the trio.</p><p>"It's a rubbish name. We need to come up with something better than that," he joked. "I think we've got a different mix of qualities. Joao can do a bit of everything. Morgan's more physical and I'm more technical, so I think we've got a good balance."</p><h3>Title charge on for Chelsea?</h3><p>The win over Fulham gave Chelsea the perfect start, and with Alonso's expertise and no European football, some have tipped the Blues to become surprise title contenders.</p> <widget id="2"></widget><p>Speaking on <em>Monday Night Football</em>, Gary Neville did suggest that the strength of Arsenal could be too much to overcome. However, he felt that Chelsea were in a good place and backed them to make a push for second place.</p><p>Regardless, Palmer revealed that no discussion had taken place within the dressing room regarding the table.</p><p>"We've not even spoken about it," Palmer said. "You can't say title race yet, we've only played one game."</p><p>However, when asked if he believed the quality was in the squad to challenge, Palmer responded: "Yeah, I think so."</p><p><strong>Watch Chelsea vs Luton live in Carabao Cup<em> </em>action<em> </em>from 7.15pm on Thursday, kick-off 7.30pm.</strong></p> <widget id="1"></widget>

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