'Cole Palmer will force Manchester United move - he dreams of playing for his boyhood club' | OneFootball

Chelsea star has been tipped to move back up north

Chelsea star Cole Palmer will try to force a move to boyhood club Manchester United.

That is according to England legend Emile Heskey, who believes the Manchester-born star is good enough to step into Bruno Fernandes’ shoes should the current captain leave.

Palmer has been linked with a move to Old Trafford in recent months, amid unconfirmed reports that he wants to move back up north after finding it hard to settle in London.

Heskey believes Palmer is among the elite players in the game who can play for any European giant, and name-checks Spanish giants Barcelona.

But it is United, who Palmer has confirmed he is a supporter of, who expect to be the first-choice destination should he leave Chelsea.

Heskey told OLBG: “I could see someone like [Palmer] in a Barcelona shirt. The way that he plays, the fans would love him.

“But then again, when you’re a kid and you’re growing up, there are things that you dream of doing as a footballer.

“You dream of playing at a World Cup. You dream of putting on that England shirt. You dream of lifting the FA Cup. Things like that. And you dream of playing for your boyhood club.

“So Cole will have dreams too, possibly to play for United, so I wouldn't put it past him if he did turn up there and they did take him on.”

Asked about Fernandes’ future at Old Trafford, Heskey said: “The reality is that with his ability, his goals, his assists, his general play, he’d have a lot of takers, but could United afford to lose someone like that now when they are actually in the ascendance again?

“I can't see them letting him go, to be honest. I don't know if he'd really want to go.

Could they sell him and cash in to rebuild their team like Liverpool did with Philippe Coutinho? That’s always a possibility, but for United I think the fans would really kick off if he were to be sold, if I’m honest with you, and then who are you going to bring in to really replace him?

“If we look at his goals and all that, he's probably one of the reasons that there haven't been any further down the table when they were in disarray.”