Chelsea player cannot be ignored anymore and Cole Palmer shows why after controversial decision

It is telling that whilst rotating all 11 players for Chelsea's Carabao Cup fourth round tie away to Newcastle, Enzo Maresca still chose to include Cole Palmer on the bench. Once more making the split between his first choice and second string side clear, only one substitute was used, and it wasn't Palmer.

The rest of the bench was relatively weak, too. Levi Colwill was the only real 'A' team player outside of Palmer included, with Noni Madueke the player to get on - as a replacement for the out-of-sorts and out-of-position Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall on the right-wing. Ben Chilwell was listed as a sub, which says a lot about how Chelsea tried to turn this game around.

It wasn't working for Christopher Nkunku - also still being utilised in a role he rarely played for RB Leipzig when tearing Europe apart two-and-a-bit years ago. Joao Felix continues to dazzle (in one sense of the word) as he looks good at most things until it comes to making a tangible impact on games - he has less xA (expected assists) in 28 league games for Chelsea than Mykhailo Mudryk generated on Wednesday night at St James' Park - and was not taken off.

He could have scored twice, finding himself on the end of Chelsea's two biggest chances. Palmer has rarely been as profligate with his efforts.

The only other attacking reinforcements for the night were 18-year-old Marc Guiu - without a senior goal in England, and outside of the main Premier League team by some distance - and Carney Chukwuemeka, another one largely just making up the numbers and not favoured after his failed summer exit. Even Cesare Casadei - earning pity minutes in the Conference League, sometimes as a starter - has been used in a deeper role more often than not.

Maresca did not have the tools available to change the game after a disastrous start left a mountain to climb in the northeast. Deciding against turning to Palmer was frustrating for many who travelled only to see a disappointing effort at making cup progress. It is also understandable given the number of injuries to key players for other sides across the country on the night.

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Palmer, for example, has been left out of the Conference League squad, evidence of just how much Chelsea don't want to risk him in midweek, especially given the prices spent to establish a deep squad of players able to give rest and some competition (yet to be really seen) for those in the first team group. Maybe it was someone not in Newcastle who was missed more.

Chelsea, allowed the space to progress the ball forward in the second half after Eddie Howe's side deliberately dropped to defend their healthy lead, had very little central punch with Nkunku and Felix both looking to come short and play intricate passes in front of the Newcastle backline. They missed a focal point, they really missed Nicolas Jackson.

Hindsight is a wonderful thing, and in this case Jackson was never likely to start to this game. He has only made one midweek appearance this season - coming to help see out the Conference League playoff round second leg away to Servette with an embarrassing collapse on the cards.

He was a substitute for the first leg at the start of the season in that tie but was otherwise left out of the Carabao Cup third round against Barrow and didn't make the matchday squad here. It isn't a surprise. He doesn't have the load management explanation like Reece James, Romeo Lavia, and Wesley Fofana, but is still being protected.

Manchester City, a goal down to Tottenham, didn't turn to Erling Haaland at the same time. Jackson is too important to be risked. Much like Palmer, he is firmly rooted in Maresca's main XI. It is notable that Jackson was not even selected on the bench.

There is certainly an argument that can be made to say Jackson is nearing an equal footing to Palmer. He is, maybe (just maybe), almost as important. It might sound crazy - but that is partially because Palmer has been glossed up, and rightly so, whilst Jackson is spoken down on widely - but it is probably true.

Jackson reached 20 Premier League goals for Chelsea on Sunday, he did it in six matches fewer than Didier Drogba. Along the way, he has eight assists and actively makes his teammates better, or better off, because of his movement, link-play, and threat.

This season already he has six league goals and three assists. That is one per game, at one involvement per 77.3 minutes. For just goals it is still almost one per 90. This is behind only Palmer in the Chelsea squad (seven goals and five assists), but ranks just as well across the division.

Palmer is one of three players with more goals than Jackson at this stage of the league season but nobody else has even one assist. If Mohamed Salah was the winger who played like a striker at times, Jackson is maybe the opposite. He brings the best of his former time out wide for Villarreal and has combined it with new instincts up front.

Haaland has only goals (but 11 of them) in nine matches, the other players to have contributed more than Jackson are Palmer (once again), Salah, and Bukayo Saka. Change this to non-penalty goals, and Jackson is even more well-represented in these numbers.

In fact, Jackson still has more open-play goals than Palmer at Chelsea in the league. This is over more than 40 matches each, too. Compare that to previous Chelsea strikers and the improvement is laughable.

Kai Havertz, 25, is now an orthodox No.9, somewhere he eventually went on to play mainly for Chelsea in his final two seasons. Jackson, 23, has scored more than Havertz for Chelsea in the league despite playing 47 games less; he has more assists, too.

Last year, with 14 (all from open play), Jackson bettered Romelu Lukaku's only full season at the club. Havertz never managed more in his three years at Stamford Bridge. Timo Werner scored 23 times in total for Chelsea in 89 games, Jackson has the same amount from 53 appearances.

It is still only Tammy Abraham and Diego Costa to get more in an individual campaign than Jackson managed last term, and he is on course to comfortably go beyond that now under Maresca. Palmer has an obviously enormous impact himself, when playing.

The pair, together, are the strongest current duo in the league. Jackson is, without exaggeration, possibly the best all-round striker playing in England right now. This is what Chelsea missed against Newcastle. It should be no shock that 1) he did not play, and 2) that Chelsea were worse without him.

This does not mean that he should have played. However, the decision to pick Palmer on the bench but to continue without Jackson may well mean more than meets the eye. Both are incredibly important and irreplaceable in the squad. Jackson is playing to this very top level, though, and that is impossible to ignore.

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