Marcel Desailly has raised major doubts over Cole Palmer’s long-term future at Chelsea and fears it won’t be long before he considers handing in a transfer request.
The England international joined the Blues two-and-a-half years ago from Manchester City and quickly established himself as an integral part of the club’s rebuilding project.
While Palmer’s star is still in the ascendancy, despite his recent injury struggles, Chelsea appear no closer to competing for the Premier League or Champions League than when the 23-year-old joined the club.
Leroy Rosenior, recently appointed as Enzo Maresca’s successor, already represents the third manager Palmer has played under during his time at Stamford Bridge and the continuous upheaval shows no real sign of abating under the current ownership.
Reports earlier this week claimed that Palmer is not as settled in London as he once was as has started to pine for a return to Manchester.
Whether United would represent a better guarantee of trophy success is a matter of conjecture, but Desailly fears the writing is on the wall unless Chelsea show they can truly compete with the likes of Arsenal and Manchester City.
The former Chelsea captain told Card Player: ‘If Cole Palmer decides to move away from Chelsea then that’s his business, but I just want him to respect the club, because they are the ones who have given him the tools to become the player he is now.
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‘I would love him to stay at Stamford Bridge because he’s got a key role in the team, even if Enzo Maresca used him in various positions.
‘I believe Palmer wants more stability and a system that’s built for him, but he still needs to fully recover from his groin injury and get back to full fitness. His recent performances speak for themselves, so he needs to stay humble and come back into the team to help the club, regardless of whether he stays or goes.
‘The question is whether he feel like Chelsea are going to win the Premier League in the next two seasons. If he doesn’t, I’m sure he will ask for a transfer request to a club that will build a system around him.
‘For now, however, he needs to hit his previous levels for Chelsea to help them and their new manager through this period.’
Rosenior, meanwhile, with three wins from four games in charge has made an encouraging start to his tenure.
The west London club enjoyed a narrow win over Pafos last night that boosted their chances of Champions League qualification and Desailly has been impressed with what he has seen so far from the new man at the helm.
He said: ‘Liam Rosenior is a good fit for Chelsea’s current squad. The players are still all very young, so the role is like being an academy coach in some ways – you have to train the players psychologically and physically for them to improve and reach good levels.
‘I believe the Chelsea owners will allow Rosenior to create a new chapter in the next three years, where he can raise the value of those young players and try and win the Premier League.
‘However, he needs to avoid conflict with any of the players, because at Chelsea, the players always win against the coach.
‘Having said that, it looks like the HR department at Chelsea have done a spot-on job with bringing a coach with his personality on board. I had a lot of respect for Enzo Maresca, but I’m very happy with seeing them bring Rosenior into the setup.’
