Cole Palmer's contract offer as Chelsea wages spiral

Stuart Telford

• 21 Apr 2024 10:30 BST
• 3 min read

Cole Palmer is to be offered a bumper new contract at Chelsea, but the club desperately need to shed players in order to fund that and further recruits next summer.

Palmer has been a rare success story at Chelsea this season, leading the Premier League scoring charts with 20 goals - a joint-best with Erling Haaland - following his £40 million arrival from Manchester City.

Chelsea paid more last summer for Moises Caicedo, Romeo Lavia and Christopher Nkunku, but Palmer has surpassed them all, becoming the fulcrum of the team.

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But the England international is only the 16th-best paid player at the club with Caicedo earning twice as much, and the Blues plan to address that following the 21-year-old's electric form this season.

Palmer underpaid

"[Palmer] earns in excess of £80,000-a-week, which is notably less than most of his Chelsea teammates, the majority of [whom] have struggled to perform under Pochettino this season," reports The Mirror's Ryan Taylor.

"Raheem Sterling… is understood to earn around £325,000 per week and Chelsea intend to bridge the gap between Palmer and the club's top-earners as they continue to build for the future.

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The Blues recently sold a pair of hotels to a sister company in order to relieve Financial Fair Play pressure, which remains an issue, nonetheless - much to the consternation of their Premier League rivals.

It is understood they need to offload players, with academy graduates Conor Gallagher, Trevoh Chalobah, Ian Maatsen and Armando Broja in the firing line, but they could also cut a corner with Palmer's contract.

"The Blues could also seek to bolster any new deal for Palmer with performance-based incentives to ensure he continues to perform on the pitch for the foreseeable future," the report adds. "Palmer's current contract does not include a goal-bonus."