“He will leave soon” – Cole Palmer could join these three clubs after worrying Chelsea projects .
The Blues were tipped to challenge for the Premier League title earlier in the season as they emerged as Liverpool’s biggest rival at the top of the table.
Enzo Maresca’s side had the chance to go top in mid-December but have won just three of their 11 games since then to slip to sixth in the Premier League.
Chelsea, who were also recently dumped out of the FA Cup, now face a huge battle just to qualify for the Champions League, sitting one point behind fourth-placed Manchester City.
A dismal run of form could lead to wider consequences with players potentially considering their futures at the club.
Ex-Chelsea striker Loic Remy says it would be only natural for England star Palmer to consider leaving if it becomes clear the Blues will not challenge for major trophies.
Palmer has established himself as one of the best players in the Premier League and an England regular since his £40m move from Manchester City in the summer of 2023.
Remy insists Palmer, 22, has the ‘technical talent’ to ‘thrive’ in Spain and could play for Real Madrid, Barcelona or Atletico Madrid, who are currently involved in a three-horse race for the La Liga title and have aspirations of winning the Champions League.
‘Chelsea have a very young squad and Cole Palmer is part of that, it looks like he is struggling at the moment,’ Remy told Plejmo.com.
‘He is struggling but the whole team is struggling, he has had some incredible performances and scored and created goals but the spotlight is always on him.
‘When he isn’t playing well it can impact the team and he’s not a superhero, if the whole team isn’t performing then it will affect him, he is only a young player like most of the players in the team.
‘If Palmer did decide to leave Chelsea, he would thrive in Spain. He has so much ability with the ball and he makes the game look easy, he has all the technical talent to thrive at a club like Real Madrid, Barcelona or Atletico Madrid.
‘He has the profile to be a success there, but first he will try to win major trophies with Chelsea, that is his priority.
‘Chelsea players might fear that Cole Palmer will want to leave the club if they don’t compete for trophies because that is the nature of football.
‘When I was at Marseille I left to join QPR because I had some value at the time, sometimes things happen in football and players move on.
‘Palmer will want to win trophies and if Chelsea can’t do that then eventually he might decide to move on.’
Liverpool legend Jamie Carragher noticed Palmer growing ‘frustrated’ during Chelsea’s recent Premier League defeat to Brighton and warned he will ‘want to leave’ if results do not improve.
‘I mentioned his [Palmer’s] frustration before,’ ex-Liverpool and England defender Carragher said on Sky Sports’ commentary of the game.
‘When you talk about projects and players and where Chelsea want to go, you look at him as a central figure of it.
But if they don’t get better and start competing for trophies, he will want to leave. He’s one of the best players in the Premier League.
‘He will want to be competing for the Champions League and Premier League.’