Paul Merson ‘wouldn’t be surprised’ to see Cole Palmer lining up for Manchester United next season – but believes Chelsea will hold onto Enzo Fernandez this summer.
The Blues suffered their fourth Premier League defeat in a row on Saturday night up against United to mark the club’s worst losing sequence without scoring a single goal for the first time since 1998.
That woeful run of form has damaged Chelsea’s hopes of qualifying for the Champions League next season, sat seven points behind fifth place Liverpool.
With their focus on the FA Cup this weekend, Chelsea could drop to as low as 11th place before the week is out if the sides below them pick up victories.
Failure to qualify for the Champions League could raise serious questions over the futures of a number of first-team stars with Fernandez already flirting with the possibility of a summer exit.
Palmer has been strongly linked with a move to Old Trafford in recent months and despite the England international insisting he is happy in west London, Merson sees a move happening.
‘No Champions League football will be a kick in the teeth for Chelsea,’ Merson wrote in his column for Sky Sports.
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‘Do you think Cole Palmer will be at Chelsea playing in the Europa Conference League? I don’t think so.
‘Manchester United will get into the Champions League, and I wouldn’t be surprised if he was playing there next season.
‘I don’t see Enzo Fernandez leaving though. Where is he going? No one’s paying £100m for him. And Chelsea aren’t going to accept a loss on him.
‘There’s a lot that needs to be done at Chelsea. They need a centre-forward, badly. They need a goalkeeper.
‘They’ve got some good defensive midfielders in Moises Caicedo, Romeo Lavia and Andrey Santos – but they need another player in there with a bit more guile.’
Despite talk of being unsettled in London, Palmer insisted last week he is happy with life in the capital.
Everyone just talks,’ Palmer told The Guardian.
‘When I see it I just laugh. Obviously Manchester is my home. All my family are there, but I don’t miss it. Maybe I’ll miss it if I don’t go for three months or something. But then when I get home I think there’s nothing there for me anyway.
‘I’ve got no plans to move from Chelsea. We’ve still got a lot to play for. We’ve got the FA Cup semi-final and if we finish in a Champions League spot it puts us in a good position to sign players that we need.