Cole Palmer’s drop off in form is in part down to Nicolas Jackson’s Chelsea absence.
That is the view of former Blues full-back Scott Minto after Palmer missed out on England’s World Cup squad.
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Palmer was one of the most high-profile players to be left out of Thomas Tuchel’s final 26-man party for this summer’s tournament.
It followed 11 goals and three assists across 34 appearances in all competitions from Palmer last season.
Those numbers represented the 24-year-old’s lowest attacking return since joining Chelsea in 2023.
Palmer ‘missed’ Jackson
Minto has now admitted Jackson’s loan exit to Bayern Munich last summer may have been a factor in Palmer’s underwhelming form.
The pair combined for 15 goals across 74 appearances for the club prior to the move.
Palmer has combined for more goals with Jackson than any other player in his career, providing eight assists for the Senegal international as well as being set up seven times in return.
Discussing Palmer’s England absence with Natalie Sawyer live on talkSPORT, Minto said: “In terms of Cole Palmer, I also think perhaps, and people made fun of him, but he’s missed Nicolas Jackson.
“Jackson misses a lot of chances, but he can cause absolute havoc and makes fantastic runs for Cole Palmer just to look up and play him in behind or slip him in.”
Meanwhile, he added: “There’s a number of reasons perhaps why Cole Palmer hasn’t been at the form he was in the previous years.
“But, even though I would have picked him, I think Cole Palmer will look at himself and say, ‘I haven’t been my very best and I understand that Tuchel’s done what he’s done.’”
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Jackson’s Chelsea future
Jackson joined Chelsea from Villarreal for £32million back in 2023, with his current deal having seven years remaining.
The 24-year-old has since scored 30 goals in 81 appearances for the club as well as winning the Conference League and Club World Cup.
Despite his Bayern loan move including a £56.2million obligation to buy, Jackson is set to return to Chelsea this summer.
Under the terms of the deal, the transfer would only be made permanent if the striker played at least 45 minutes in 40 matches.
However, Jackson played just 34 times across all competitions, with only 15 of those outings as part of the starting line-up.
He ended the campaign with 11 goals as Bayern won a league and cup double under Vincent Kompany.
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It is currently unclear whether Jackson will be reintegrated into the Chelsea first-team next term following Xabi Alonso’s arrival as manager.
There remains interest in the forward, with Newcastle United listing him amongst their transfer targets, talkSPORT understands.
