Laporte's HOT TAKE on Palmer's next move after Chelsea

Stuart Telford

• 16 Apr 2024 09:00 BST
• 3 min read

Cole Palmer's former Manchester City teammate Aymeric Laporte has had his say on the youngster's next career move following his stunning four-goal haul for Chelsea against Everton.

Palmer is beginning to look like the one that got away for Man City. The club have been linked with a big money move for Bayern Munich's Jamal Musiala as Kevin De Bruyne's long-term successor, but it seems they had one all along.

That was until they allowed Palmer to leave for Chelsea in a £40 million transfer last September. Now, eight months on, the midfielder's four-goal haul against the Toffees has drawn him alongside Erling Haaland at the top of the Premier League scoring charts on 20.

READ MORE: Latest Chelsea transfer rumours

Laporte took to X (formerly Twitter) on Monday to post "Wow kid" accompanied by cold emojis, to which one user asked the Spain defender where he could see Palmer going in his career. His reply? "London, for now."

Palmer indispensable

The insinuation was clear: Chelsea may not be able to hold onto Palmer in the long run, even if they bolted him down to a seven-year contract, with the option of an eighth, when he joined.

The lengthy contracts under Todd Boehly were designed to circumvent FFP. But Chelsea still need to raise £100m in players sails next summer if they are to satisfy Premier League Profit and Sustainability rules.

READ MORE: Chelsea’s 10 most expensive transfers of all time

An argument over penalties - which ensued before Palmer converted his fourth goal on 64 minutes with Nicolas Jackson trying to steal the ball from him - is testament to the lack of cohesion in the Chelsea dressing room this season, despite the 6-0 score.

Palmer is now valued at €33.1m (£28.3m) by FootballTransfers' in-house algorithm, and Chelsea need the money, but as evidence yet again from the England youngster, they cannot afford to lose him.