5. Noni Madueke
Chelsea’s Noni Madueke plays a crucial role in the team’s attack by providing width on the right flank. As the team’s main playmaker, Cole Palmer consistently delivers high-quality passes to Madueke, giving him ample opportunities to showcase his skills.
The team’s structure is designed to ensure that Noni receives the ball frequently and has the space to take on defenders in one-on-one situations. This setup allows him to utilize his explosive speed and dribbling abilities effectively in the final third of the pitch.
It’s a marathon, not a sprint. pic.twitter.com/lAxxtFI7H2
— Noni Madueke (@NoniMadueke_) October 6, 2024
In September, the English striker scored only one goal and did not provide any assists, while Madueke found himself in good positions to take a shot or make an assist on several occasions.
Nevertheless, Noni should be considered one of the top five players of September. He displays great discipline in his pressing and defensive work in his own half of the pitch, making him a valuable player for Chelsea.
4. Wesley Fofana
Wesley Fofana is an injury-prone player who missed the entire previous season due to injuries. However, Fofana has been regularly included in the starting lineup from the first match in this campaign, demonstrating solid defensive play.
Fofana reads the game well and rarely lets opponents get past him while also successfully engaging in aerial duels. In Enzo Maresca’s system, the French defender calmly shifts to the right flank at the beginning of attacks and quickly and accurately delivers progressive passes into the area between the lines.
Wesley Fofana 🇫🇷 pic.twitter.com/rDKJ9nsPuI
— London is blue (@IsBlue38251) October 7, 2024
Fofana is also capable of progressing the ball through powerful dribbling, which he successfully utilized in September. It is crucial for Chelsea that he avoids injuries for as long as possible, as his reliability in defense as well as his attacking abilities, make the London club significantly stronger.
3. Jadon Sancho
Jadon Sancho has only played in four matches, but has already managed to make three assists and become one of Chelsea’s best forwards. The English forward can play on the right and left flanks, as well as in the center, but Enzo Maresca has so far used him exclusively on the right.
In his very first match, Sancho demonstrated good dribbling, which caused a lot of problems for the opponents. He can hold onto the ball for a long time and sometimes it seems like he makes too many unnecessary touches.
😁💙#CFC | #CHEBHA pic.twitter.com/8QBkRdpEVk
— Chelsea FC (@ChelseaFC) September 29, 2024
However, he attracts the attention of two or three opponents, thus creating space for his teammates.
It’s possible that, over time, Sancho will become more dynamic and make high-quality decisions more quickly in the opponent’s penalty area. But even at the moment, he is one of the best players at Chelsea, as he brings great value in attack and works diligently in defense.
2. Nicolas Jackson
Nicolas Jackson is perhaps one of the most controversial figures at Chelsea, as the fans of the London club are divided into two camps: some actively support the Senegalese player, while others constantly criticize him.
Jackson’s performance consistently generates conflicting assessments. On the one hand, he regularly misses good scoring opportunities and often gets lost in matches against strong opponents.
Not tweeting until Nicolas Jackson scores. 🥶💫 pic.twitter.com/6f3TgkAB5a
— Dragonyte (@Dragonyte_CFC) October 6, 2024
On the other hand, he excels in the role of a “false nine” in the center of the field, creating combinations with his teammates and making speedy runs into the opponent’s penalty area.
In September, Nicolas scored three goals and provided two assists, which can be considered a great achievement. However, most of his successful actions were in the match against West Ham, who defended poorly and allowed him a lot of space.
Nevertheless, Jackson is valuable in pressing and is an important tactical option in building attacks. He often intelligently positions himself in the central part of the field and helps his teammates to gain numerical superiority over the opponents. Therefore, Nicolas Jackson deserves to be in second place in the ranking of the best Chelsea players in September.
1. Cole Palmer
The only Chelsea player who has consistently demonstrated top-class football for the second season in a row is Cole Palmer. Without him, Chelsea would have had little chance of competing for a top-4 spot in the Premier League, as the other attacking players have not shown the same level of stability and ability to make a difference in every match.
Palmer is so effective in his actions that Enzo Maresca uses him not only in the final third but also at the beginning of the attack in their own half of the field.
This Cole Palmer pass for Nicolas Jackson 😯 pic.twitter.com/zFq3ZUjFHM
— Premier League (@premierleague) October 2, 2024
Aside from his ability to deliver top-class passes, Cole impressively converts his moments into goals and regularly finds himself in good positions for strikes with his diagonal bursts behind defenders.
Maybe Cole shouldn’t be overly praised, as in some situations, he allows himself to slack off. However, when you watch his game, it’s easy to notice how great he is at pressing in most games. By a large margin, Cole Palmer is undoubtedly the best player at Chelsea, not just in September but also in 2024 overall.
