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Cole Palmer would consider leaving Chelsea for Manchester United – with Michael Carrick a long-time admirer of the England international.

Palmer, 23, left Manchester City to join the Blues two-and-a-half years ago but recent reports have suggested he is unsettled in west London.

The attacking midfielder would reportedly consider a move to be closer to his hometown of Wythenshawe and while he would not be willing to head back to City while Pep Guardiola is in charge, the boyhood United fan would be interested in a move to Old Trafford.

It would likely take a colossal fee to prise Palmer away from Stamford Bridge with United’s own priorities this summer surely lying elsewhere with a rebuild in midfield long overdue.

Unless he does enough to convince United’s hierarchy he deserves the full-time gig, Carrick has been placed in charge until the end of the season and is likely to have no influence over the club’s summer transfer plans

But the former midfielder is already a huge fan of the Chelsea star.

Their paths crossed in a Carabao Cup semi-final match between Chelsea and Middlesbrough in January 2024 with Palmer scoring twice in a 6-1 win.

Having spoken to the Chelsea star after the game, Carrick said: ‘He’s a nice lad and down-to-earth. You can see from watching him and playing against him with the quality that he has got.

‘It is not nice when you are on the other end of it but you can appreciate and respect how good he is. He will have a terrific career.’

Does Palmer want to leave Chelsea? ‘It’s not true’

Chelsea boss Liam Rosenior meanwhile insists Palmer has shown no signs of being unhappy with life at the club.

Asked whether Palmer was both ‘untouchable’ and ‘happy’ at Chelsea, Rosenior replied: ‘Yes and yes.

‘It’s simple. Cole is an incredible player, like the guy sat next to me [Moises Caicedo] and many players in the group.

‘I’m not surprised at the timing [of the speculation] – a new manager comes in and all of a sudden there are people unsettled. It’s not true.’

The former Strasbourg head coach added: ‘Cole is here, he’s very happy and I can’t wait to see him back on the pitch.’

Micky van de Van is a doubt for Sunday’s Premier League clash with Manchester City due to a ‘minor’ injury issue, Thomas Frank confirmed.

Van de Ven scored his fourth league goal of the season as Tottenham were held to a 2-2 draw away at Burnley last weekend.

However, the Dutch centre-back was absent from training on Tuesday, and has not travelled with the squad to Germany for Wednesday’s crunch Champions League clash with Eintracht Frankfurt.

And Frank confirmed that Van de Ven could also miss Sunday’s league fixture against City with the problem.

‘Micky has something minor and hasn’t travelled but could be available for City,’ the Spurs boss said on Tuesday.

There was more bad news for Spurs as Frank also confirmed that Pedro Porro was set for a month out with an injury after being taken off at half-time against Burnley on Saturday.

‘Pedro has a hamstring injury and will be out for four weeks,’ Frank confirmed.

‘Definitely not a help to any of us,’ Frank added on Porro’s injury.

‘Of course we prefer to have the best players out on the pitch. Any coach wants that and any team-mate wants that. That’s why we have a squad though.’

While Tottenham’s torrid league form has them sat 14th in the table, and only eight points off the drop, they have impressed in Europe and could secure an automatic spot in the last-16 with a win against Frankfurt.

Asked to explain the disparity between his side’s performances in the two different competitions, Frank responded: ‘First and foremost, I think tomorrow we have a great opportunity to secure a position in the top eight, which will be a very good result, a very good achievement.

‘We’re very, very positive and looking forward to that. So, that’s what we’re focusing everything we can on.

‘The other thing is that I think the performances for a while have been good in many ways, we just haven’t got on the right side enough to get the three points.

‘That’s what we’re working very hard on, sometimes you’re in that spell. The players are giving everything. But for me, tomorrow, it’s all about Frankfurt. All about the opportunity ahead of us.’

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