Former Chelsea defender William Gallas has named La Liga sides Real Madrid and Barcelona as the only two teams capable of luring Cole Palmer away from the Stamford Bridge outfit.
Palmer, 22, has proved to be a transformational signing for the Blues since arriving in a move worth up to £42.5 million from Manchester City in 2023. He has helped his team emerge as a Premier League title challenger this season.
So far this season, the left-footed attacking midfielder has started all 16 of his league outings for Chelsea. He has found the back of the opposition net 11 times and registered six assists in 1,392 minutes of first-team action for his club.
Speaking recently to betting website Prime Casino, Gallas provided his thoughts on Palmer’s future with the player’s current deal set to expire in June 2033. He elaborated (h/t Metro):
“At the moment, I think only Real Madrid and Barcelona could tempt Cole Palmer away from Chelsea. I think he would thrive playing his football in Spain. That could be three seasons in the future, but I think Chelsea fans should hope that neither of those clubs come in for him any time soon.”
Palmer, who won the 2023-24 Premier League Young Player of the Season award, is next likely to be in action on Sunday (December 22). He is expected to start in Chelsea’s Premier League clash against Everton at Goodison Park.
Chelsea star reveals interest from Aston Villa
Blues striker Nicolas Jackson has revealed that he was close to joining Aston Villa during the 2022-23 season. The Senegalese said (h/t Tribal Football):
“When Unai [Emery] left Villarreal, he wanted me to go to Aston Villa, but I was injured. I had to go, but I had a hamstring injury. We went there, they checked and said I needed one more month and they wanted me now. If they wanted me in a week, two weeks, I wasn’t ready, so they had to cancel the transfer, and I came back. When I came back, I was very angry.”
After registering 13 goals and five assists in 38 total appearances for Villarreal in the 2022-23 term, Jackson sealed a £32 million move to the Blues in 2023.
Jackson, 23, has started 54 of his 60 appearances across all competitions for Enzo Maresca’s outfit so far. The right-footed number nine has scored 26 goals and recorded nine assists in 4,755 minutes of action for the Blues.
Edited by Debkalpa Banerjee
