Malo Gusto in action for Chelsea (Picture: Getty)
Malo Gusto insists he would rather have ‘special’ Cole Palmer at Chelsea than prolific Manchester City striker Erling Haaland.
The 21-year-old, who left Man City to join Chelsea last summer, added a fourth from the penalty spot in the second half, drawing him level with Haaland in the Golden Boot race with 20 league goals.
Palmer was rated highly at the Etihad but his form at Stamford Bridge has surprised even the most optimistic of Chelsea fans.
Gusto is delighted to have ‘special’ Palmer as a team-mate and insists he would not swap the England international for Haaland, who has scored 83 goals in 91 games since joining Manchester City in 2022.
Asked whether he would rather play with Palmer or Haaland, Gusto said: ‘Cole, for sure.
‘We just have to help Palmer become the top scorer. He is special, and we are very happy to have this type of player on our team.’
Cole Palmer scored four goals in Chelsea’s win over Everton (Picture: Getty)
Palmer’s first-half hat-trick was the fastest by a Chelsea player in the Premier League and made him the club’s top goalscorer in a single campaign since Diego Costa.
Leicester City defender Conor Coady says Palmer has been the obvious ‘bright spark’ for Chelsea this season given the club’s more general struggles in the Premier League.
Despite a promising recent run, Chelsea remain just ninth in the table, 16 points outside the top-four places and 36 points behind leaders Manchester City.
‘He is keeping Chelsea going a little bit this season,’ Coady said of Palmer on BBC Radio 5 Live. ‘He has been a bright spark for Chelsea.
‘What he is doing is fantastic. Everybody asked the question at the start of the season about whether he should be leaving [Manchester] City. He has shown everybody why he left City and why he is becoming the main man at Chelsea.’
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