Chelsea is preparing for their club World Cup -Final against PSG on Sunday and Cole Palmer has been tipped to help the blues to lift a new trophy after they have inspired their UEFA Conference League triumph
Cole Palmer is plastered everywhere in Billboards in New York. And now the “great” Talisman of Chelsea is determined to make the hype come true – even if he takes everything in his pass.
Chelsea star Palmer is one of the faces of the Club World Cup and part of Nike's advertising campaign together with people such as Vinicius Junior, Erling Haaland and Kylian Mbappe.
The slogan reads “Scary Good” and Palmer has gained the reputation as a big game player after his man-of-the-match display to win the Europa Conference League final almost yourself. Now on Sunday will offer an even larger setting in the 80,000 capacity with Metlife Stadium that will organize the first New-Look Club World Cup final.
They have to overcome ruling European champions Paris Saint Germain with a jackpot of £ 97 million at stake, but Palmer will be determined to record the tag on those billboards that are plastered everywhere in Times Square, Manhattan and beyond.
Chelsea defender Levi Colwill said: “He is scary good – to say the least. He is a great player. That Billboard fits him perfectly well. It is great to see him everywhere in New York. It is surrealistic and I am happy for him. I think he has seen them, but you know that Cole.
“We are all enthusiastic to be in the final. It is a huge competition and to be the first finalists is great. But we didn't just come here to be in the final, we want to win the competition.”
Chelsea are large underdogs against the flair and the style of the PSG of Luis Enrique that have been in sensational form during this tournament. The will of Ousmane Dembele, Khvicha Kvaratskhelia, Vitinha and Nuno Mendes have blown everyone away and they are certainly the team that had wanted FIFA in their first New-Look Club World Cup final.
It has been an interesting trip for Chelsea and they don't have the superstars of PSG, but Palmer is the striking player for the Enzo Maresca team. But Colwill believes that Chelsea has grown up in the competition, the rounds have grown and success will put it back on the map and put back between the heavyweights of Europe.
And Colwill also says, for the players, the prestige and the trophy is larger than the prize money of a tournament that has often been nicer and more popular than some had expected. And there is definitely a template 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 have come. We really believe in ourselves. Hopefully we will win this and many more finals in the future. This is huge. It is the first tournament and to place yourself in the history books.
“You have to respect how they press, how they play, but we are not going to change our entire way to play them. We have our plan, our identity that we will keep through the Gaffer and that is when we play our best football, so let's keep up with it.
“We are so far when playing our football, so why are we going to change that now? We believe in ourselves and we want to try to prove that that is the way to do this. If you turn the game into a basketball game in this heat, it will help nobody.
“If everyone thinks we're going to lose, we have nothing to lose. We go outside, play our football, be confident and hopefully surprise everyone.”