Gary Neville says Chelsea have a player who’s seriously surprised him at Stamford Bridge

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Chelsea have surpassed all expectations in the Premier League this season so far.

Chelsea were tipped to challenge for the top four before the start of the season, but now, Enzo Maresca’s side are bona fide title contenders.

Chris Sutton believes Chelsea can win the league, and if the Blues are to become champions, they will have one man to thank for that.

Position	Team	Played MP	Won W	Drawn D	Lost L	For GF	Against GA	Diff GD	Points Pts
1	LiverpoolLiverpool	14	11	2	1	29	11	18	35
2	ChelseaChelsea	15	9	4	2	35	18	17	31

Of course, we’re talking about Cole Palmer.

Palmer has been incredible for Chelsea this season, and speaking on It’s Called Soccer, Gary Neville has reserved some serious praise for the England star.

• READ MORE: What Chelsea have awarded to fans making the 7,000-mile round trip to Astana for UEFA Conference League clash

Gary Neville hails Cole Palmer

Neville spoke highly of Palmer, claiming that the £40m man is way better than he thought he would be.

Indeed, Neville says he didn’t expect Palmer to reach this sort of level, labelling him as exceptional.

Nedum Onuoha has also been shocked by Palmer this season.

“He’s an exceptional talent, beautiful to watch, is a star in a group of very good players. 40 million pounds.

“I think at the time, I didn’t question him coming to Chelsea. I questioned them signing another wide player, thinking that they had this sort of… this batch of wide players and players that were being accumulated.

“They signed Mudryk and all those players, Madueke. You’re thinking, how many more do they need to sign of this type? What he’s gone on to become, no one could have ever expected, and I certainly didn’t.

“He’s exceptional. And to get that level of precision and class and the final pass, the right touch in someone who’s only really two years into doing this is amazing.”

Cole Palmer’s stats before joining Chelsea

Neville says he never saw this coming from Palmer, and it’s not hard to understand why.

Indeed, while Palmer was highly-rated during his time at Manchester City, he showed no signs of being this good.

Palmer’s stats since joining Chelsea are absolutely ridiculous, especially when you compare them to his time at City.

Nobody saw this coming from Palmer, not even Pep Guardiola.

While Guardiola may be the greatest footballing mind of his generation, his decision to sell Palmer to Chelsea was a serious miscue, and it’s a decision he must still kick himself over.

One of the main reasons Palmer didn’t get into the City side was due to the presence of Phil Foden, but now, that decision almost looks laughable.

Indeed, Foden’s stats this season pale in comparison to Palmer’s.

Palmer has become an absolute superstar since joining Chelsea, and he’s now undoubtedly one of the very best players in the Premier League.