Cole Palmer: Chelsea attacker ready to put troublesome 2025/26 season behind him after promising start under Xabi Alonso

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.

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.

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.

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.

"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 Sky Sports.

"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.

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"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]'.

"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.

"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."

Alonso giving Palmer the keys to freedom

While it is early days, Palmer appears to have been given the license to express himself once again under Alonso.

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.

"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.

"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."

That new sense of freedom could help forge lethal attacking trio of Palmer, Joao Pedro and new signing Morgan Rogers. All three scored at Craven Cottage and have since been dubbed 'JP Morgan.'

While Palmer is absolutely not a fan of the name, he is excited by the budding relationship between the trio.

"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."

Title charge on for Chelsea?

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.

Speaking on Monday Night Football, 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.

Regardless, Palmer revealed that no discussion had taken place within the dressing room regarding the table.

"We've not even spoken about it," Palmer said. "You can't say title race yet, we've only played one game."

However, when asked if he believed the quality was in the squad to challenge, Palmer responded: "Yeah, I think so."

Watch Chelsea vs Luton live in Carabao Cup action from 7.15pm on Thursday, kick-off 7.30pm.

(c) Sky Sports 2026: Cole Palmer: Chelsea attacker ready to put troublesome 2025/26 season behind him after promising start under Xabi Alonso