After a lethargic and rather languid start to their first campaign under Mauricio Pochettino, supporters were concerned. What had been a promising preseason that saw goals from the likes of Ian Maatsen, Mykhailo Mudryk and Nicolas Jackson was turning into a nightmarish beginning in front of the net.

A lone 3-0 win over newly-promoted Luton Town was sandwiched in between a torrid run which saw losses to West Ham, Nottingham Forest and Aston Villa as well as a draw against Bournemouth provide just a single goal between all four matches. Until the 50th minute of the Carabao Cup Third Round clash against Brighton, it looked as though the club would have to postpone their Goal Of The Month competition - simply because Pochettino's men had failed to score.

However, since then, the Blues have failed to score at least two goals on just one occasion - the 2-0 loss to Brentford at Stamford Bridge in mid-October. But despite that outlier, everything has been turning up Chelsea over the past few weeks.

It's no coincidence either that this period has come during Cole Palmer's integration into the starting XI. The former Manchester City youngster appears to be the talisman that the Blues manager has been calling for going forward, and has been pivotal in unlocking the potential success buried deep within this Chelsea team.

Four goals in his last five appearances, two coming during instrumental performances in both the 4-1 win over Tottenham and the 4-4 draw against his former club, have meant the star has quickly become a fan favourite. His actions haven't gone unnoticed by the top brass either, with England manager Gareth Southgate calling the youngster up to the senior squad during the November international break after James Maddison withdrew with injury.

For Pochettino, seeing him hit his stride so quickly has come ahead of time, something he explained earlier in the season. He said: "He is a very talented player and he has the quality and he surprised me when I arrived. It was the day before the transfer window closed.

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"The way he reads the situations and what the team needs in every situation, he can be the player who can link with his team-mates. He is still very very young but with great personality and he has the talent and the quality which we saw today."

Incredibly, there's a world where the Blues turned away from the option to sign Palmer, whose £42.5m deadline day move from the Citizens caught many off-guard, unaware that the Blues were even in the market for the star. In fact, before Palmer's deal was complete, another option on the wing the Blues were pondering was Villarreal star Yeremy Pino.

The 20-year-old had previously been linked with a move to the Premier League last summer with Arsenal and Spurs both said to be interested, but ended up staying in Spain to help Quique" Setién's side qualify for the Europa League. For Chelsea though, he was also seen as a key factor in bringing out the potential of the very raw Jackson, who had just completed his own £22m move to Stamford Bridge in the weeks prior.

Having contributed to 10 goals in 36 La Liga appearances, the link-up between the pair at the end of the season was one of the reasons why the Senegalese striker appeared on Chelsea's radar in the first place. Despite the intriguing prospect of reuniting the two forwards, Chelsea settled with Palmer instead - and it appears as though they made the correct decision.

In his seven La Liga appearances so far this season, the star is yet to score and it's set to remain that way after he suffered a brutal injury blow earlier this week. In a training session at Villarreal's training ground, the Spain international tore his ACL and is likely to miss the rest of the season and potentially the 2024 Euros.

In stark contrast, Palmer is set to make his debut for the Three Lions later this week after his call-up, leaving Chelsea in a far better position than they might be in an alternate timeline.