Anton Ferdinand has claimed that Cole Palmer is still not a better player than a certain big name at Manchester City.
Recently, Gary Lineker described City’s decision to sell the Englishman to Chelsea in the summer as “stupid.”
Djordje Petrovic believes the youngster was quite underrated even during his time at the Etihad Stadium.
That is no longer the highly-rated attacker’s story anymore, as he is constantly hailed by fans and pundits alike and rightfully so.
Cole Palmer is certainly having an outstanding campaign, having registered 25 goals and 13 assists in all competitions.
Alongside Malo Gusto and Conor Gallagher, the Wythenshawe-born technician seems to be the only player who has generated positive headlines from his performances this season.
Anton Ferdinand says Cole Palmer is not better than Man City star
While some would argue that Palmer would have started week in, week out at City on the right wing, his former club have still managed a find to account for his departure.
The likes of Phil Foden, Bernardo Silva and Jeremy Doku have all played on the right flank this season.
None of them have lit up proceedings there to a standard where the public demand is for either of the aforementioned names to start in that position every time they start.
But top players find a way to have an impact wherever they play.
That has been the case at Manchester City in terms of the right-wing position.
With the kind of season Palmer is having, it is natural that he has been compared to several English players.
When quizzed about whether Cole Palmer is better than Phil Foden, however, Anton Ferdinand sided with the latter.
“He’s not better than Phil Foden”, he said on FIVE’s official YouTube channel.
“It’s impossible to say someone’s better when they’ve done one season.”
Anton Ferdinand also stated that if England could play either Phil Foden or Cole Palmer to play as a number 10, they should choose the former.
“He can’t go in there in the [number] 10. He can’t go in there instead of Foden. Foden’s taking City to the league in the 10.”
Palmer has a long way to go to be on the same level as Foden
In our view, Anton Ferdinand is bang on the money in how he has broken down the comparison between Cole Palmer and Phil Foden.
For starters, Foden has been consistently brilliant for years while winning trophies galore while Palmer is only currently having his breakout season.
Even based on form, is the Chelsea superstar really having a superior season to that of the Manchester City midfielder?
As Anton Ferdinand rightly claimed, for all the magic Cole Palmer has produced on the pitch, Chelsea remain in ninth place while Phil Foden is leading City’s title charge.
While Palmer has been widely lauded for showcasing his brilliance week in and week out, Foden has been expected to deliver amidst the pressure of City’s title-winning hopes.
As a result, Cole Palmer has plenty to accomplish to reach the same standard as his former teammate.