Paul Merson believes Chelsea will seriously consider offloading Cole Palmer if they receive a bid in the region of £120m.
Writing in his column for Sportskeeda, Merson said that he isn’t particularly encouraged by the player’s body language in recent games, and he can see a situation where he is sold:
“Liam Rosenior is looking after Cole Palmer quite well. But when Palmer scored the penalty against Brentford last week, I thought his celebration was a bit strange.”
“Chelsea must keep Palmer happy. But I’ve always said it, if some other club offers £120 million for Palmer, Chelsea will sell him. That is what Chelsea always do in the transfer market.”
Where has this Palmer exit narrative come from?
All this stems from an article in The Sun last Tuesday, where it was asserted that the 23-year-old is homesick and he is missing his friends in Manchester.
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It was suggested that Palmer could return to Manchester City, while other speculative reports then added Manchester United into the mix.
Rosenior has played down talk that the player could leave Chelsea
Despite the wafer-thin rumours, head coach Liam Rosenior was still asked about Palmer’s happiness during his pre-match press conference ahead of the Crystal Palace fixture. He did his best to pour cold water on the stories:
“I’ve had numerous conversations with Cole and he seems, and is, very, very happy to be here. He is a huge part of our long‑term plans, he’s an outstanding player. Every player goes through difficult moments in their career with injuries, but that is no indication of his quality.”
The lack of celebration after his goal against Brentford was also explained. Rosenior said Palmer was frustrated with his performance in the game as he is still struggling to overcome a troublesome groin injury, which he has been carrying since the summer.
Read more about the Chelsea First Team Squad for 2025/26 here