Cole Palmer’s start to life at Chelsea was nigh on perfect, but this season has been a frustrating one.
The 23-year-old joined the Blues from Manchester City in 2023 and has gone on to become arguably Chelsea’s best and most important player.
Palmer has struggled as of late, though, with an ongoing groin issue stunting his gametime and hindering his performances – but could there be more to his downturn in form behind the scenes?
Here, Transfer News Blitz writer Emily Clogg takes a look at Palmer’s time at Chelsea and the rumours surrounding his morale at the club.
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LIFE AT CHELSEA
Cole Palmer has become a bit of a hero in west London since his move to the capital two-and-a-half years ago.
The versatile forward has netted 41 goals in 82 appearances for the Blues – an impressive record of a goal every two matches – and has provided a further 19 assists.
During this time, Chelsea have bagged themselves two major trophies, winning the UEFA Conference League in the 2024/25 season, followed shortly by the inaugural FIFA Club World Cup in the same year.
Palmer’s taken home plenty of individual accolades, too: in 2023/24, he was named both England Player of the Year and Chelsea Player of the Season, and most recently won the London Football Awards Premier League Player of the Year trophy in 2025.
This season so far has been frustrating for the 23-year-old, with an ongoing groin issue, alongside other niggles, causing him to miss 100 days of action.
He initially picked up his groin injury during Chelsea’s pre-season, and it is said to have become ‘chronic’, with many believing Palmer could have to undergo surgery to truly get back to full fitness.
RUMOURED UNREST
According to reports, Palmer is not only suffering from an injury standpoint, but may also be feeling a little bit homesick in the ‘Big Smoke’.
Born and raised in Manchester, the City academy graduate is rumoured not to be enjoying life down south, and has been missing his friends from back home.
Despite growing up a Manchester United fan, Palmer joined City in 2010 and went on to make 19 first-team appearances under boss Pep Guardiola.
When Palmer made the switch to Chelsea in 2023, he had been struggling for gametime in an extremely talented City squad.
It was a big decision to leave the comfort of the surroundings he grew up in and become the main man elsewhere, but it’s safe to say it was the correct decision to make at the time.
Two-and-a-half years on, however, could a combination of injury troubles and homesickness see Palmer make a shock return to City, or could a potential switch to United be on the cards?
COULD A MOVE MATERIALISE?
I struggle to see a world in which Palmer moves back to Manchester City.
Guardiola’s side have recently completed the signing of Antoine Semenyo, who has hit the ground running at the Etihad with three goal contributions across his first three matches in all competitions.
Semenyo aside, this is a City squad with an abundance of attacking firepower in the likes of Rayan Cherki, Jeremy Doku, Phil Foden, Omar Marmoush, and, of course, Erling Haaland.
Palmer can play across the front-three, as well as behind the striker, or even as a number eight if required, so he would provide quality across multiple positions for City, but this isn’t a move I can see materialising.
Manchester United, on the other hand, could be more of a possibility.
This is a team entering a new era under manager Michael Carrick, and with Palmer having grown up a Red Devil himself, a move could see him lead the way towards a revival at Old Trafford.
Currently, United boast a number of attacking options, including Brian Mbeumo, Amad Diallo, Bruno Fernandes, Matheus Cunha, and Benjamin Sesko, but there is a bit of a lack of quality in depth, in my opinion.
While Palmer would be an excellent option for United across a number of different positions, the biggest gap to fill for Carrick at this point in time is a top-quality left-winger.
Patrick Dorgu put in an excellent display off the left in a huge 2-0 Manchester Derby win, but it’s clear the club need to recruit a natural fit for this position if they are going to become a serious outfit once again.
Palmer can play on the left, as previously mentioned, but it’s not his best position, and for a player with a market value of around £100m and a contract running until 2033, it’d seem a bit of a waste to pay such a hefty fee and not utilise him to his full potential.
Ultimately, I don’t see these moves coming to fruition in the near future, but if his unrest continues to grow, I wouldn’t rule out a possible move down the line.
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