Cole Palmer has reportedly expressed interest in joining La Liga giants Real Madrid, which could reignite a deal despite Chelsea demand a record-shattering fee.
Palmer is currently one of the most in-form footballers in the Premier League. Only Mohamed Salah has been directly involved in more goals than the Chelsea man’s 17 this term.
But Salah has many seasons of top-flight experience under his belt, whereas Palmer is in just his second season of playing consistently, meaning he may well get better yet.
As a result, it seems he could play for any club in the world, and it was recently revealed Real Madrid are keeping an eye on the 22-year-old.
Fichajes have reported that the La Liga giants cooled their interest after demands of €200million (£165m/$210m) from Chelsea became clear, a figure exceeding even what Real are willing to pay.
But Palmer himself could have reignited the deal, with a subsequent Fichajes report stating the Chelsea talisman ‘has expressed interest’ in joining Real.
That aspiration has reportedly not gone unnoticed by the club’s board, meaning they could yet decide to go after Palmer anyway.
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Record-shattering deal unlikely
A £165million transfer would be the Premier League’s record sale, surpassing Philippe Coutinho’s £111m (€135m/$141.7m) move to Barcelona in 2018 by some way.
But TEAMtalk is aware that Palmer’s exit from Chelsea is very unlikely at the moment, despite Fichajes – a not particularly reliable source at the best of times – suggesting otherwise.
Indeed, we are aware that Palmer loves the Blues, and the club have huge admiration for their superstar.
The chances of that changing any time soon are very slim, meaning the odds are stacking up against Real.
Chelsea round-up: Palmer could form deadly duo
Palmer remaining at Chelsea will be ideal if they can land their No 1 target, Raphinha, who is reported to be wanted by the club in order to form a deadly duo with the Englishman.
Another potential inbound transfer is that of Ruben Dias, with TEAMtalk sources stating the Manchester City man could be made available by the Premier League champions, with the Blues on the hunt.
Meanwhile, Chelsea could allow Tosin Adarabioyo out on loan, as West Ham want him and feel he could be convinced to move.
And Jamie Carragher feels the lack of a quality centre-back and goalkeeper are holding Chelsea back in the title race.
Real Madrid’s last five permanent PL raids