Sources: Man United have "real and concrete" interest in signing Chelsea's Cole Palmer | OneFootball

The Cole Palmer transfer situation has been making headlines for some time now, and I can confirm that Manchester United have a genuine and concrete interest in the Chelsea star.

As has been widely reported, there is the sense that Palmer would be open to a move back to Manchester, having left United’s rivals City for Chelsea a few years ago.

Numerous current Chelsea players are disillusioned with the current Blues project, but I cannot currently confirm that Palmer is one of them. Sources close to the player are not yet giving much away on his future.

Meanwhile, sources close to Chelsea insist the England international is simply not for sale. They point to his long-term contract, running until 2033, which was signed in August 2024.

How realistic is Cole Palmer to Manchester United transfer?

While some inside United might feel there is an opportunity to move for Palmer this summer, that’s not the unanimous view, as dealing with Chelsea doesn’t look promising at this stage. The Red Devils would prefer to avoid a lengthy saga, and there’s not currently anyindication that Palmer could try forcing a move, which would likely be required for Chelsea to even consider coming to the negotiating table.

Even in that scenario, though, the Blues would be looking for a fee in the region of £150m, which is simply not feasible for United or any other club in the PSR era.

“United’s interest in Cole Palmer is real and concrete,” one source told me. “But I can’t see it being one for this summer. There’s been a lot of media noise, but that might be part of laying the groundwork for a deal in the future. Realistically nothing can happen now unless the player really pushes for a move.”

“Chelsea letting Cole Palmer go is a non-starter,” another source said. “He’s under contract until 2033 and he’s the face of this project. It may well be that he’s keen to move back to Manchester at some point, but at the moment this is just media speculation and not confirmed by the player.”

Although the 23-year-old remains very highly thought of in the industry, he’s only managed 10 goals in all competitions this season, down from 18 last term, and 25 the year before.

In the long run, Palmer could well be the ideal candidate to replace Bruno Fernandes at Old Trafford, but United might do well to wait one more season to see if he rediscovers his best form.