Alan Shearer has delivered his verdict on a Chelsea player who seems to have surprised him this season.

The Blues haven’t had a great campaign at all, have they?

Mauricio Pochettino‘s side have won just 13 of their first 31 league games, which is not a great record at all considering how much money they have spent over the last two years.

However, Chelsea have found themselves in a position now where if they win their games in hand, they will leapfrog both West Ham and Manchester United and be level on points with Newcastle, who are currently sixth.

That would give Chelsea a huge chance of qualifying for Europe next season, which would be a great achievement considering they’ve spent large parts of this campaign in the bottom half of the table.

One player has played a huge part in Chelsea’s recent revival, and Shearer has heaped praise on him now.

Alan Shearer says Chelsea’s Cole Palmer has done something that nobody expected

Cole Palmer has become a superstar since he joined Chelsea from Manchester City.

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Pep Guardiola’s decision to let the 21-year-old leave is being questioned every week, with Gary Lineker the latest to have his say on the situation.

Palmer has been fantastic for the Blues this season. He has scored 23 goals and provided 13 assists in all competitions, which is a stunning record.

In his last game, Palmer scored four times, including a first-half hat-trick against Everton. More and more people are being amazed by him every week, and Shearer has now joined the party.

The Newcastle United legend is blown away by the fact that Palmer has scored 20 times in the Premier League this season, which is the same number as Erling Haaland.

Shearer went on to say that nobody expected to see Palmer have as good a season as he has had.

“20 league goals. He’s sat top of the list with Haaland as we sit here. It’s ridiculous, it’s madness,” said Shearer on the Rest is Football podcast.

When Linker asked, “Who would’ve predicted that at the start of the season?”, Shearer quickly replied: “No one!”

How Palmer could make Pep Guardiola regret his decision even more

Pep Guardiola is one of the best managers football has ever seen, and we’re sure he knew very well that Cole Palmer had the potential to become a star.

However, we don’t think even he would’ve expected the 21-year-old to match Erling Haaland‘s goal tally in the Premier League this season.

Guardiola must have surely wondered at least once what would’ve happened if he kept hold of Palmer in the summer, but now, the Chelsea man could inflict some serious pain on his old employers.

The Blues take on Manchester City in the FA Cup semi-finals at Wembley tomorrow, and after crashing out of the Champions League and failing to win the Carabao Cup, Guardiola will take this competition very seriously.

However, City have slipped up at this stage in the past, and if there’s one man who can make Guardiola re-live that experience, it’s Palmer, who is in the form of his life.