Chelsea star Cole Palmer hailed his first Premier League Player of the Month award by paying tribute to his idol Eden Hazard.

Palmer completed a double on Friday when he was not only named the best player in the division for April but added the Goal of the Month to his haul. This achievement means he is the first Blues player to win both awards simultaneously.

Remarkably, he is also the first Chelsea player since Hazard to win the Premier League Player of the Month. The Belgian was awarded the fan-voted prize in September 2018 and Palmer paid tribute to that achievement when celebrating his accomplishment on social media.

Posting to his Instagram story, Palmer shed light on a message he sent Hazard when he was 13 and had yet to break into the Manchester City youth system. A young Palmer privately messaged the then-Chelsea winger a picture of his City No.10 shirt with the caption: "You're the best player in the world."

Fast forwarding to the present day, Palmer added: "When you message one of your idols in 2015 and then follow their footsteps." The 22-year-old has been a revelation for Chelsea this season after signing for a £42.5m fee from City in the summer as he pursued more minutes.

Palmer has since repaid the faith shown in him by Mauricio Pochettino, scoring 26 goals and providing 13 assists across 45 appearances in all competitions. His 21 goals in the Premier League puts him firmly in the race for the Golden Boot where he currently sits second behind his former City teammate Erling Haaland who has 25 goals to his name.