Has ice -cold Cole Palmer got off the boil?
A fleeting look at his recent statistics does not provide great reading. Three goals in 11 games in all competitions and zero helps in his last 13.
It would be easy to place that output in shape next to the drop-off of Chelsea and to blame for the struggle of the blues at the feet of their star man.
But that would be an incorrect assessment.
The journey from Chelsea to Aston Villa on Saturday evening, Live on Sky Sports, is a suitable moment to view the performances of Palmer and the real problems that the side of Enzo Maresca is confronted.
It was back on December 1, against Villa in Stamford Bridge, where Palmer registered his most recent assist and stroked the ball in the feet of Enzo Fernandez to poke in Chelsea's second of the afternoon. Palmer himself hit the 3-0 win, with a beautiful curly attack in the top corner.
The result has moved Chelsea to third in the Premier League table, level at points with Arsenal. Maresca had to ask questions about whether his team were title candidates in his press conference after the game.
Nobody asks him that now.
While Chelsea won their next three Premier League matches after that success of Villa, they went three signs and lost four of their next nine, with a collapse of mid-December to bring their Champions League-qualifying hope to serious doubt.
The 3-0 loss in Brighton Last Friday was labeled the worst performance of Chelsea of the Maresca era, with the visitors not even a shot on the Amex countries.
During the match, Jamie Carragher of Sky Sports emphasized a moment of annoyance from Palmer. “I just saw Cole Palmer something crazy and crazy,” he said on co-commentary. “But it's a frustration, not only because of today, but it is after what has been going on in recent months.
“Trying by three players when it's not on … But that's almost frustration – as if he passes the ball, what are his teammates going to do with it?”
The statistics show why Palmer may have felt that way.
Ironically, during this drought of assists, when informal observers started with Palmer's contribution, his creativity has actually increased.
Palmer registered six assists in the first 13 games of this season. During the 12 games since then, the expected data of the expectation – which measures the quality of the opportunities he produces – have almost doubled – from 2.63 to 4.15.
In fact, Palmer can feel this season in the entire season because he no longer has assists to his name, given the number of great opportunities he has created for his teammates.
Only Bukayo Saka has carved more clear openings, but the Arsenal player and Mohamed Salah in Liverpool, who has created 18 great opportunities – such as Palmer – both have considerably more assists.
Of course, waste in the front line is nothing new for Chelsea fans. There has been criticism of Nicolas Jackson-and The Senegal striker for some time has the worst conversion of Big-Chance conversion among players who have had 20 or more of those must-score moments this season.
Noni Madueke (missed great opportunities from 15) and Christopher Nunku (five missed of seven) have also seen target core moments pass.
Perhaps the real frustration for Chelsea is that Palmer cannot be at the end of the opportunities he himself creates.
In the last 10 Premier League matches, Palmer has only had two big chances of his own chances and he has scored them both, stopped the new year with back-to-back strikes against Crystal Palace and Bournemouth.
His conversion rate of 47 percent of great opportunities is the best with Chelsea of players who have had at least two such openings.
They have many problems right now – but Palmer is not one of them.
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