'Loving the trust Pochettino puts in him'
Chelsea midfielder Cole Palmer is "lapping it up" as the focal point for the Blues this season, according to the iPaper's chief football writer Daniel Storey.
The 21-year-old, who joined Chelsea from Manchester City for £40m in the summer, continued his incredible debut season for the club against Everton on Monday night by scoring four goals - including a 'perfect' hat-trick.
He has netted 23 times and made 13 assists in all competitions for the Blues this campaign and is now joint-first alongside Erling Haaland in the race for the Premier League Golden Boot.
Speaking on BBC Radio 5 Live's Football Daily podcast, Storey said: "[Palmer] come from a Manchester City academy that is incredibly tactically controlled under Pep Guardiola every day, even in training.
"Chelsea is a bit of a mad house, or has been a bit of a mad house for most of this season tactically. I wonder if being able to grab games by the scruff of the neck and have some responsibility - to be a £40m signing that is going to play every week - that has dragged that sense of purpose out of him.
"It also helps that he is really hard to defend against. Around him people don't know who is going to start or how Chelsea are going to play from week to week. Sometimes they seek possession, sometimes they make mistakes, sometimes they play on the counter and sometimes they play with the ball so him being that still point in there... he is just lapping it up.
"He is loving the confidence and the trust that Pochettino is putting in him. If he feels like there is something to prove after Manchester City then all the better for him and all the better for England too."
Listen to the full episode on BBC Sounds
