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Cole Palmer scored his first goal in almost three months for Chelsea on Saturday afternoon as the Blues beat Everton 2-0 at Stamford Bridge
Wesley Fofana believes Cole Palmer is on a similar level to Kylian Mbappe and Ousmane Dembele after the Chelsea star scored his first goal in almost three months against Everton on Saturday afternoon.
Palmer inspired the Blues to their first victory in December at the weekend, with the 23-year-old opening the scoring with a calm finish in a 2-0 win over the Toffees at Stamford Bridge. The England international slotted past his Three Lions teammate Jordan Pickford on 21 minutes to break the deadlock, before Malo Gusto doubled the home side's lead just before the half-time break.
It was Palmer's first goal for Chelsea since September 17, with the playmaker spending the majority of that time out because of a groin injury. Fofana, who completed 90 minutes for the Blues on Saturday, was quick to hail the importance of Palmer and even compared the Chelsea man to his France colleagues Mbappe and Dembele.
"He is a star, he is the best player on the team," said Fofana. "When he is on the pitch, he is a different player. Everyone sees tonight, he just played 50 minutes but all the stadium and all the fans see he is very important for the team.
"We are very happy he is back and hopefully he can stay fit and try to help the team."
The Frenchman added: "He is close with the guys like Mbappe and Dembele. He is very, very close. I play with very good players for the national team and play against very good players. He is top. He is on a different planet and we are very happy to have him with us."
Fofana shone for Chelsea as they shut out Everton at the weekend, with the 24-year-old defender helping keep yet another clean sheet. The former Leicester City defender has played a part in five clean sheets in his last seven appearances in all competitions.
Fofana has formed a strong partnership in the centre of defence with Trevoh Chalobah - which appears to be Enzo Maresca's favoured defensive pairing at the moment. However, the Chelsea head coach tends to rotate his squad on a game-by-game basis to combat the hectic fixture schedule, and that is helping Fofana given the Frenchman’s injury-ridden past.
"For me, I talk a lot with the manager," said Fofana. "The programme is good for now, just play one game a week.
"The team feels good. The manager picks the team, and the guys that are on the bench stay focused because we are together. The guys that come in, the guys that go out, we are together and we work hard. It is the manager’s decision; we just follow and try to win the game."
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