'Magic': John Obi Mikel says Chelsea have a player who's been better than Alexis Mac Allister this season

01/03/2025 11:45 AM

We're halfway through the Premier League season, and, up until now, Liverpool have been the best team in the league.

The Reds are flying high at the top of the league right now, and many of their players have been performing brilliantly.

Mohamed Salah is a Ballon d'Or contender after his incredible performances this term, while Ryan Gravenberch has been hailed for his brilliant showings this term.

Alexis Mac Allister has been fantastic this season as well, but according to John Obi Mikel, speaking on The Obi One Podcast, Chelsea have a player who's been even better than the Argentine this season – Cole Palmer.

Indeed, Mikel was discussing his Premier League Team of the Season so far, and he picked Palmer ahead of Alexis Mac Allister.

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Cole Palmer is better than Alexis Mac Allister

Mikel shared his verdict on who should be in his midfield in the Team of the Season so far.

The pundit picked Ryan Gravenberch and Moises Caicedo in the deeper roles, while he picked Palmer as the more advanced player.

However, Mikel says that he would pick Mac Allister if Palmer wasn't a factor in this team.

"There's only one. You just made a good argument for Mac Allister. If there was no Cole Palmer I'd have Mac Allister in that number 10, but he's a revalation. He keeps producing magic after magic. If he wasn't in the team I wonder where we would be this season. I don't think we would be where we are – fourth," Mikel said.

"We forget about the workrate he has when we don't have the ball, he chases players down, he's the full package, he has everything."

Cole Palmer compared to Alexis Mac Allister

Mikel says that Palmer is better than Mac Allister, and the numbers show that he's not wrong.

Indeed, while Mac Allister has been praised for his performances this season, Palmer is on another level, and the numbers show it.

Of course, these two players play wholly different roles for their respective sides, but when you have a player who is as decisive as Palmer, you have to hold your hands up and say he's just on another level.

Both players can do things that the other man can't, but if you were to pick one player to put into your team, Palmer would be the man.

Palmer has surprised Gary Neville with his incredible rise over the past 18 months at Chelsea, and after a stellar 2024, the England international will be hoping to kick on and improve even further in 2025.