Eden Hazard or Cole Palmer? Wayne Rooney or Erling Haaland? Carlos Soler picks between past and present PL players

West Ham United Carlos Soler backed Eden Hazard over Cole Palmer and Wayne Rooney over Erling Haaland during a recent interview. He was asked to choose between current and former Premier League stars by GOAL.

Soler started by choosing Chelsea legend Petr Cech over Liverpool's Alisson Becker. He then backed Trent Alexander-Arnold and Virgil van Dijk over Manchester United legends Gary Neville and Nemanja Vidic, respectively.

Later in the interview, the Spanish midfielder took the 2024 Ballon d'Or winner, Rodri's side over Liverpool icon Steven Gerrard. The former Valencia star was then asked to pick one star between Cole Palmer and Eden Hazard and he picked the latter.

Since joining Chelsea from Manchester City in 2023, Palmer has been in stellar form, bagging 39 goals and 21 assists in 68 games. However, the Spanish midfielder chose Chelsea icon Eden Hazard. Soler also chose former Tottenham Hotspur attacker Gareth Bale over Mohamed Salah and Frank Lampard ahead of Bruno Fernandes.

Picking an equal number of players from the past and present after 10 questions, Soler ended the interview in favor of past Premier League stars. In the last question, he chose Manchester United's all-time top scorer Wayne Rooney over Norwegian forward Erling Haaland.

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Joe Cole lavishes praise on Cole Palmer, compares Chelsea star with Lionel Messi

Chelsea FC v AFC Bournemouth - Premier League - Source: Getty

Former Chelsea player Joe Cole compared Cole Palmer to Argentine superstar Lionel Messi after the Englishman equaled Eden Hazard's record during the Blues' draw against Bournemouth. Enzo Maresca's side played a 2-2 draw against the Cherries at home in the Premier League on Tuesday, January 14.

Cole Palmer scored Chelsea's first goal in the 13th minute with a resounding finish after Nicolas Jackson flicked the ball past Bournemouth's defenders. He became the first Chelsea player since Eden Hazard (2013-14 and 2014-15) to be directly involved in at least 20 goals in two consecutive Premier League seasons.

Impressed by Palmer's performance, Joe Cole said at halftime (via The GOAL):

"He reminds me of Messi... I wouldn't want to put that pressure on him."

Palmer is Chelsea's highest goalscorer in the Premier League this season with 14 goals and has emerged as the team's top performer. However, the Blues dropped two points against Bournemouth on Tuesday.

Justin Kluivert's penalty in the 50th minute and Antoine Semenyo's second-half strike (68') gave the Cherries a lead at Stamford Bridge. Reece James then equalised with a late free-kick (90+5').