Cole Palmer was named the Men's Player of the Year and and Men's Players' Player of the Year at Chelsea's glitzy end-of-season awards ceremony last night.
The 22-year-old has been a revelation since swapping Manchester City for Chelsea and is perhaps the least surprising winner of the club's Player of the Year award in its history, with Thiago Silva coming away with the prestigious prize last term.
Eyebrows were raised when the Blues decided to splash out £42.5million on Palmer last summer, given the young attacking midfielder had only made 19 appearances in the Premier League under Pep Guardiola at City.
But Palmer has proven all of his doubters wrong across a phenomenal debut season, with the youngster racking up 24 goals and 13 assists in what has otherwise been a disappointing campaign in west London.
The Manchester City academy graduate, who was rewarded with his England debut last November, will be desperate to add to his impressive tally in Chelsea's last three remaining games against Nottingham Forest, Brighton and Bournemouth.
Though Palmer may still be feeling the pain after being on the losing side in the final of both the Carabao Cup and FA Cup this season, the joy was clear to see as he was applauded onto stage to collect his awards at Stamford Bridge.
Asked about his Euro 2024 aspirations after being handed the Player of the Year prize, Palmer replied: 'Hopefully I can get picked and go to the tournament and show what I can do
'But there are a few games left at the end of the season.'
Chelsea's end-of-season awards
PFA Community Champions - Conor Gallagher and Zecira Musovic
Women's Academy Player of the Year - Katie Cox
Men's Academy Player of the Year - Alfie Gilchrist
AllBright Award - Zecira Musovic
Women's Players' Player of the Year - Jess Carter
Women's Player of the Year - Lauren James
Men's Players' Player of the Year - Cole Palmer
Men's Player of the Year - Cole Palmer
It's likely Palmer will have won both the Men's Player of the Year and and the Players' Player of the Year awards by a landslide considering the extent to which he has stood out from the rest of Mauricio Pochettino's squad this season.
Given the England international couldn't vote for himself, he revealed that he selected Malo Gusto to win Chelsea's Players' Player of the Year while speaking with the club's social media team shortly after the ceremony.
'It's been a dream season, a debut season for me, so thank you to the manager, the staff, the players and, of course, the fans,' Palmer began.
'I just came to play, showcase my abilities, my talent to the fans. But it has gone amazing, probably better than I imagined so, yeah, I'm buzzing.'
Asked who he voted for to win the Players' Player of the Year, Palmer responded: 'I voted for Malo Gusto.
'I love playing with him on the right and he's been amazing this season when he's played, so that's why I voted for him.'
Chelsea signed Gusto from Lyon in January 2023 before immediately loaning the Frenchman back to the Ligue 1 outfit for the remainder of last season.
The 20-year-old right-back made his Chelsea debut in August and has impressed in Reece James' absence this season, making 33 appearances in all competitions.
In October, Gusto was handed his senior France debut and the youngster will no doubt be desperate for a place in Didier Deschamps' squad at this summer's European Championships in Germany.
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