Man City legend Sergio Aguero praises ‘spectacular’ Chelsea star: ‘I love him’ | Football

Sergio Aguero has revealed his ‘love’ for ‘spectacular’ Chelsea star Cole Palmer and praised two of Xabi Alonso’s summer recruits.

Alonso welcomed a number of new faces to Stamford Bridge after being appointed as Chelsea’s new manager on a four-year deal.

The Blues spent close to £350m on more than ten new signings after a disappointing season in which they finished just 10th in the Premier League.

Despite the huge spending in west London, which included a £117m deal for England’s Morgan Rogers, Palmer remains Chelsea’s standout player, according to Aguero.

Aguero briefly played with Palmer while the pair were both at Manchester City, the former leaving the Etihad Stadium in 2021 and the latter completing a £40m move to Chelsea in 2023.

Palmer has made a bright start to the season, scoring four goals and providing two assists in seven appearances, but Alonso’s side are only 10th with the worst defensive record in the division.

‘[Cole Palmer, Joao Pedro and Morgan Rogers] are good players, but even if you have an excellent front three, if the team isn’t solid in midfield or defence, the forwards can score three goals and the opposition will score four,’ Aguero told Stake.

‘You’ll end up losing 4-3. To sustain a front three that you know is very good, you also need a reliable structure behind them so that the team doesn’t suffer so much.

‘Barcelona had that with their front three at their peak, as did Real Madrid and City. But you need a team behind them that can protect the lead after you score.

‘Chelsea are dangerous. I played with Cole Palmer and I love him as a player. I think he’s spectacular.

‘When I was there, he didn’t have many opportunities to play for City because there were many top-level players who were also in good form.

‘Moving to Chelsea has worked well because he needed to play. In my opinion, he’s Chelsea’s best player today. He can score or provide an assist at any moment and make the difference.’

Aguero also praised the signings of two of his compatriots, goalkeeper Emiliano Martinez and midfielder Valentin Barco, who joined from Aston Villa and Strasbourg respectively.

‘[Emiliano Martinez] is a very good signing because Chelsea conceded too many goals,’ Aguero added. ‘It won’t be easy at first because Dibu needs to get to know his teammates and defenders, which will take a few matches.

‘But Dibu will become very important in many games because he can win matches for you. It’s a very good signing.

‘I also think the signing of Barco is very good. He’s a young player who has a lot of quality and energy. Once he gradually gets into the rhythm of playing, he’ll do well.

‘But we’ll see what happens over the year and whether the club keeps him. That’s another matter.’

Chelsea play their first game in three weeks on Saturday when Bournemouth make the trip to Stamford Bridge.

The Blues lost 3-0 to west London rivals Brentford last time out while Bournemouth, currently one place above the relegation zone, were beaten by Liverpool.

This fixture ended 2-2 last season, while the corresponding fixture on the south coast was a goalless stalemate.

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