Cole Palmer under Xabi Alonso feels like a player reborn, and his resurgence has come at the perfect time for Chelsea. The 2025/26 Premier League season was a difficult one for Palmer, as injuries, positional restrictions and his inability to consistently play in his preferred role affected his form and performances, ultimately contributing to his side finishing 10th in the league while also seeing him miss out on the 2026 World Cup.
However, just two games into the 2026/27 Premier League campaign, there already appears to be a noticeable change. The player who has stepped onto the pitch against Fulham and Brighton & Hove Albion looks much closer to the player Chelsea fans fell in love with during his first season at the club. He is moving with greater freedom, finding dangerous spaces, creating chances and taking up positions that allow him to influence games more consistently.
A major reason behind that resurgence could be the newly formed Chelsea front three, which has quickly earned the nickname “JP Morgan.” The combination of João Pedro, Morgan Rogers and Palmer has given the Blues a more fluid attacking setup, with all three players allowed to interchange positions and attack spaces rather than being restricted to fixed zones.
Palmer has also admitted that his time under the new Chelsea head coach has been a game changer, particularly because of the freedom Alonso has given him to roam and express himself. Unlike previous campaigns, Cole Palmer under Xabi Alonso appears to have fewer positional restrictions and more responsibility to find the spaces where he can hurt opponents most.
Palmer said:
“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.”
Cole Palmer Under Xabi Alonso: Why Chelsea’s New Attack Could Terrify The Premier League
The Chelsea front three has been touted by rival fans and pundits as one of the — if not the — most dangerous attacking trios in the Premier League, and it has certainly lived up to the hype in back-to-back games. One of the biggest takeaways from the Blues’ performances so far has been the freedom Xabi Alonso gives his attackers — especially Cole Palmer — to move across the pitch, find dangerous spaces and influence the game without being restricted to a fixed position.
It is not simply freedom to roam for the sake of it. Alonso is removing many of the positional restrictions placed on him and giving him the responsibility to find the spaces where he can hurt opponents most, much as he did with former Bayer Leverkusen star and current Liverpool attacker Florian Wirtz.
Cole Palmer under Xabi Alonso already looks like a completely different proposition. In matchday one against Fulham, he was constantly moving between the lines, dropping into midfield, drifting wide before arriving centrally again and looking for pockets of space to receive the ball. He attempted eight dribbles while also winning possession seven times, numbers that underline just how involved he was throughout the game.
The difference can also be seen in how the Chelsea front three functions. João Pedro remains heavily involved centrally but is free to drop deep or run beyond the defensive line. Morgan Rogers can attack from either side and carry the ball inside, while Palmer has arguably been given the greatest licence of all to interpret the game and move into whichever areas he believes he can cause the most damage.
That is why the Chelsea front three looked so fluid against Fulham and Brighton. None of them were permanently glued to one zone. All three scored, while their constant movement created new passing lanes and forced Fulham’s defenders to repeatedly make difficult decisions. Against Brighton, the same principle was evident again. Despite Chelsea having less than 30% possession throughout the contest, this was perhaps the most encouraging aspect of Cole Palmer under Xabi Alonso.
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Chelsea Front Three: How Xabi Alonso Is Unlocking Cole Palmer’s Best Football Yet
The Chelsea head coach appears to understand that the Englishman does not necessarily need more instructions; he needs more responsibility. The Spaniard has spoken about giving Palmer both freedom and responsibility, and that distinction is important. He has given him the freedom to occupy positions where he can affect the game, but also the responsibility to take control of those positions and dominate matches.
That could prove to be one of the defining differences of Chelsea’s 2026/27 Premier League campaign. Under Enzo Maresca, there were moments when Palmer was required to maintain a specific structure and operate within certain positional parameters. Alonso, however, seems more willing to take the opposite approach — building the system around his strengths rather than forcing him to fit rigidly into it.
The 3-4-2-1/3-4-3 shape helps massively as well. The two attacking players behind João Pedro do not have to provide conventional winger width, which gives Palmer greater freedom to start from the right but spend large parts of the game in the half-space, central areas or even deeper positions to receive the ball. Rogers can do something similar from the opposite side, creating a Chelsea front three that can constantly interchange positions and attack different areas of the pitch.
That is why the 2026/27 Premier League campaign could be the best season of Palmer’s career if he manages to stay fit. Alonso is not trying to make Chelsea’s number 10 fit his system. Instead, he is building a system that maximises his strengths and gives him the freedom to influence games from his most dangerous areas. A fully fit Palmer is arguably one of the best half-space players in world football. The way he receives between the lines, manipulates the full-back and midfielder, and then decides whether to turn, carry the ball, combine with a teammate or shoot is ridiculous.
He does not need much space either. He can create space for himself, and that makes the Englishman incredibly difficult to defend, as simply tracking him man-to-man has its own risks. Follow him into the half-space, and you can leave room for another attacker; stay with the winger, and you give Palmer the freedom to receive between the lines. Step out to close him down, and he can beat you with a quick pass, combination or change of direction.
Then there is the finishing. Once he finds himself in that familiar right half-space around the edge of the box, defenders already know what is coming. However, anticipating his next move and actually stopping it are two very different challenges. That freedom could become one of the defining features of Cole Palmer under Xabi Alonso throughout the 2026/27 Premier League campaign.
His best football comes when he is constantly involved rather than confined to a specific position. Give Chelsea’s number 10 the freedom to drift into the half-spaces, receive between the lines and attack the box, and you get one of the most dangerous creators in football. His game is not built purely on athleticism; it is driven by timing, manipulation, technique and intelligent decision-making.
When he is fully fit and playing with confidence, there are very few players in world football capable of controlling a game from those areas quite like him. For Chelsea, the question may no longer be how to get the best out of their star man. Cole Palmer under Xabi Alonso could simply be about giving him the freedom to do what he does best.
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