Palmer has been a huge success story since signing for Chelsea from Manchester City, with the 22-year-old named as PFA Young Player of the Year in his debut campaign at Stamford Bridge.
The midfielder led the Premier League for goals and assists (33) in 2023/24 and is the early leader for goal involvements during the new season’s opening months.
Palmer has been shortlisted for the 2024 Ballon d’Or and Winstanley believes he can be a future winner of the award. No English player has claimed the Ballon d’Or since 2001, while there has not been a Premier League winner since 2008.
“No doubt he can (win the Ballon d’Or), no doubt,” Winstanley told The Telegraph.
“He’s got a bit of maverick personality on the pitch, you can see that. You can see it in training, you can see it in the games. He’s got that ability.”
Palmer was the breakout star of the Premier League season last term, exceeding all expectations having struggled for regular football at Manchester City.
Chelsea ‘knew’ Palmer had ‘top-level ability’
Winstanley said Chelsea ‘knew he had top-level ability’ and were aware of the player’s talent from a young age.
“There’s no doubt we knew he had top-level ability. We’ve got some good insight in the building with Sam [Jewell, Chelsea’s director of global recruitment] and with Joe [Shields, Chelsea’s co-director of recruitment, who worked at Manchester City], along with ourselves. And we’ve all been aware of Cole since he was very young.
“The biggest thing we’ve been impressed with is his personality on the pitch and the way he’s grown in stature very quickly. And he’s great around the place, he’s got a lot of supporters around the club day-to-day, so we were under no illusions of his ability and he’s moved forward incredibly quickly, and we’re just delighted for him.”
