Cole Palmer switches up iconic celebration in response to Chelsea exit rumours as he nets record-breaking hat-trick
Cole Palmer seemingly shut down any sense of discontent at Chelsea with his celebration during a record-breaking display against Wolves.
The Blues star has endured a difficult season but was on hand to give his side a three-goal lead before the break in their 3-1 win.
Palmer made no mistake from the spot against WolvesGetty
Matt Doherty was first adjudged to have fouled Joao Pedro inside the box and Palmer then slotted in past Jose Sa.
Recent rumours have claimed that the 23-year-old is unsettled at the west London giants.
He has also been linked with a move to boyhood club Manchester United, but this looks increasingly unlikely following his latest goal.
Palmer covered his ears with his hands during his celebration and blew a kiss towards the away end at Molineux.
Shortly after the half-hour mark, he scored another penalty after Pedro was fouled yet again inside the area.
He made it 2-0 and netted his 50th Chelsea goal in all competitions on his 100th start for the club.
But his afternoon got even better as he completed a first-half hat-trick to silence any doubters even further.
Palmer rifled a shot into the top corner to become the first player in league history to score three separate hat-tricks in the first half.
Speaking to talkSPORT after, he was asked about his frustrations with injury issues: “Yeah, no, obviously never been injured before and then picking up this injury where it’s not like a muscle injury, when you do a hamstring, you get a time frame or whatever.
“This one was just day by day, but it just seemed to not get better and still going on now, but it is feeling a lot better, and hopefully soon it will just clear and I can just focus purely on performing.”
Palmer then insinuated he’s blocking out the noise at ChelseaGetty
Palmer was also asked if he has spoken to England boss Thomas Tuchel about his recovery and availability for the World Cup.
However, he said this was not the case.
Palmer set for the World Cup?
Having struggled with injury and his form in front of goal over the past few months, Palmer’s World Cup chances began to look slim.
Before kick-off at Wolves, former Chelsea defender Scott Minto was questioning if he would make the squad.
“A fit and firing, and on-form Cole Palmer, for me, starts in an England XI at the World Cup,” he told talkSPORT.
“At this moment in time, I’m not even sure he’s on the plane. So first of all, he’s got to be playing 90 minutes, keep himself fit.
Palmer scored his fourth hat-trick for Chelsea against WolvesGetty
“Then once he gets four or five 90-minutes under his belt, we’ll start to see the real Cole Palmer.
“A really important few months for him, and obviously for Chelsea.”
Palmer may well have returned to Tuchel’s thinking thanks to his first-half display against Wolves.
It was a performance that drew flashbacks from his debut season at Chelsea, and he’ll hope to replicate in the coming weeks.
