The comparison comes after Palmer scored four goals against Everton on Monday, a game that was just 11 days removed from a Palmer hat-trick against Manchester United.

Palmer now sits tied with Erling Haaland atop the Premier League goal scoring chart despite playing as an attacking midfielder, a fact that surely prompted Nevin's correlation between the young Chelsea star and De Bruyne.

"I'm not surprised that Cole Palmer is this good, I'm just surprised he's this good this quickly," Nevin told Grosvenor Casinos. "When he was at Manchester City I covered a few of his first games and I remember I almost shocked myself by saying that this guy could be the next Kevin De Bruyne.

"Just looking at him technically, as a player, he's got everything."

Nevin stressed that while the future is still to be written for the 21-year-old, Palmer is statistically ahead of the City maestro when their ages are taken into account.

"You have a look back at the likes of Kevin De Bruyne when he was at Cole Palmer’s age, was he as good?" Nevin said. "Was he at the top level in the Premier League scoring 20 goals?

"I'm not saying he's going to be a better player than Kevin De Bruyne - but he's got what it takes. He's absolutely got what it takes to be one of the very best in the business."

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