‘I was highly critical of him’: Wright-Phillips wowed by £30m Chelsea ace now ’stepping up’ with Cole Palmer

Cole Palmer was the main man again for Chelsea as they sealed an impressive 4-2 win over Brighton on Saturday in the Premier League.

Brighton have had a strong record at Stamford Bridge in recent seasons and they went into the weekend encounter unbeaten from their five Premier League matches.

But then they felt the wrath of Cole Palmer, who scored an incredible four goals inside a half to seal the points for his side.

It was a devastating performance from the player, and rightly so, he has been getting plaudits left, right and centre.

But Shaun Wright-Phillips thinks one other Chelsea star is also ’stepping up’ alongside the man of the moment.

A lot has been said about Chelsea’s transfer business, not just this summer, but since Todd Boehly and Clearlake Capital entered the building.

One of the names under the firing line has been Nicolas Jackson, you can argue no other player has been verbally battered more at Stamford Bridge.

Wright-Phillips added that he was ‘highly critical’ of Jackson last season and how he used to miss many big chances.

But now the Premier League title winner under Jose Mourinho feels that Enzo Maresca has been working ‘one-v-one’ with Jackson, as he told Premier League Productions (30/09/24 at 1:55 pm). 

All of which is bearing fruit because Chelsea are sitting in the Champions League places and have only been beaten by Manchester City.

Nicolas Jackson ‘stepping up’ for Chelsea with Cole Palmer 

“Do you know what I love is, to be honest, Jackson,” said Wright-Phillips. “I was highly critical of him last year.

“I think, to see the difference in him this year in that final third area. He definitely has had one-on-one work with the manager and that is helping Chelsea as well because, now they aren’t just relying on Cole Palmer. He is stepping up to the plate, whether it be assists or scoring. He is in the right place and taking chances.”

Nicolas Jackson’s improvement under Enzo Maresca 

When Pochettino left Chelsea, it would have been a body blow for Jackson because he was starting to improve under the now-USA coach.

But Maresca’s arrival has seemingly taken Jackson’s game to another level, even though there has been that stop-start journey to his career at the Bridge.

READ MORE: Micah Richards says Chelsea’s Cole Palmer has something that ‘separates him’ from others in his position

After six Premier League games, the 23-year-old has scored four goals and supplied three assists.

Only against Manchester City and Bournemouth has the £30 million failed to score or assist this season, with the London club hosting Nottingham Forest at the weekend.