Chelsea ‘will sell’ Cole Palmer for £120m after claims he ‘will ask for a transfer request’ | OneFootball

Arsenal legend Paul Merson insists that Cole Palmer will be sold by Chelsea if another club puts in a bid of £120m or more in the summer.

The Blues got a bargain when they paid Manchester City £40m in 2023 with the England international contributing 41 goals and 19 assists in 82 Premier League appearances since arriving at Stamford Bridge.

Chelsea are struggling to match his ambitions, though, with the Blues sacking Enzo Maresca earlier this month and replacing him with Liam Rosenior.

The Blues finished sixth and fourth in Palmer’s first two seasons at Stamford Bridge and sixth-placed Chelsea look set for a similar finish in the Premier League this term.

A report in The Sun on Thursday claimed that Palmer has become ‘unsettled’ at Chelsea and would consider re-joining Man City if Pep Guardiola leaves in the summer.

And Chelsea legend Marcel Desailly reckons Palmer “will ask for a transfer request” if the Blues don’t win the Premier League in the next couple of seasons.

“I believe Palmer wants more stability and a system that’s built for him, but he still needs to fully recover from his groin injury and get back to full fitness. His recent performances speak for themselves, so he needs to stay humble and come back into the team to help the club, regardless of whether he stays or goes.

“The question is whether he feel like Chelsea are going to win the Premier League in the next two seasons. If he doesn’t, I’m sure he will ask for a transfer request to a club that will build a system around him. For now, however, he needs to hit his previous levels for Chelsea to help them and their new manager through this period.”

And now former Arsenal midfielder Merson reckons it will take £120m to tempt Chelsea to part company with the 23-year-old.

Merson wrote for Sportskeeda: “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.

“Call me a cynic, but I noticed how he didn’t celebrate with his teammates or the fans. That was strange for me.

“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.

“I’m also not happy about Chelsea playing Palmer on the right. He needs to play as a no.10 with Moises Caicedo and Enzo Fernandez or Reece James behind him. Just give him a free role.

“When Palmer plays on the right, he’s too easy to pick up. We saw that when he went up against Antonee Robinson during the Fulham game. So why put him there?

“It will be interesting to see what happens with Palmer in the future amid rumours of a move away from Chelsea.”