Cole Palmer is too good for Chelsea but he will struggle to leave the club, insists Jamie Carragher, as Paul Scholes agrees the England star ‘needs challenging more’ amid Blues slump

Cole Palmer‘s move to Chelsea has been nothing but an unmitigated success, but for Jamie Carragher and Paul Scholes, the former Man City star may have already outgrown his new club. 

Palmer joined the Blues at the start of the 2023-24 campaign, and has gone on to become the west London side’s best and most important players with 39 goals and 21 assists in 78 games. 

His form has even taken him into the England set up, memorably coming off the bench to score a stunning equaliser in the 2024 European Championship, which the Three Lions lost 2-1. 

However, so dramatic has been his rise from relative anonymity to one of the premier forwards in the game, that some pundits believe he could perhaps be best served by looking to move away from Chelsea already.  

‘I commentated on Brighton vs Chelsea in the league a month ago. I’m a big fan of Cole Palmer, and he played two passes early on, but the longer the game went on, you could see the frustration with his team-mates,’ said Carragher, speaking on The Overlap Fan Debate, brought to you by Sky Bet. 

‘It reminded me of Stevie [Gerrard] at Liverpool at times, because he was so much better than everyone else and he got frustrated. Stevie was a local player, but he was never going to leave, whereas Cole Palmer isn’t.

Jamie Carragher has claimed that Palmer should perhaps look to ‘get out’ of Chelsea already

Though he only joined from Manchester City in 2023, Palmer is under contract until 2033

‘This is when I go back to those eight-year contracts, and whether they are good for the club and players. 

‘If you’re Cole Palmer, who’s got six or seven years left on his deal, and he should be playing for a team looking to win the Champions League, how does he get out?’

Though the Blues are one of the giants of the Premier League over the last two decades in terms of silverware, they are struggling to find success under Todd Boehly and Clearlake Capital, battling for a Champions League spot this term. 

They may go on to win the Europa Conference League, and are in fact favourites to do so, but it is not the frontier that Enzo Maresca’s side really wish to be competing on. 

The key to making that jump is naturally to bring in better players, though Chelsea’s transfer ethos has focused on signing young starlets to nurture into top stars over the years. 

As such, Palmer finds himself in a position where he is very evidently the best player at the club, and Scholes argued that the forward might want to look elsewhere for more of a challenge. 

‘I’ve felt for a while that for Cole Palmer, it’s almost been too easy for him to play in that Chelsea team. He knows he’ll play every week and be the best player. 

‘I think he needs challenging more, and I don’t get the impression that they [Chelsea] are desperate to win anything.’ 

Palmer was left out of the 1-0 defeat by Arsenal after concerns over his fitness emerged

Paul Scholes added that Palmer needs ‘challenging more’ and things have been ‘too easy’

Enzo Maresca has shown progress as Chelsea’s new boss this term but could still miss out on Champions League qualification

As noted, Palmer has a lengthy contract at Stamford Bridge, and could remain at the club until 2033 after penning an extension earlier this season. 

Therefore, should the player feel his development is becoming stymied he may struggle to find a route out with so long left on his deal. 

Palmer was left out of his side’s defeat by Arsenal at the weekend after doubts arose over his fitness. 

He has since been replaced in the England squad by Nottingham Forest star Morgan Gibbs-White, a player that many felt ought to have been included from the start by Thomas Tuchel. 

Jamie Carragher and Paul Scholes were speaking on The Overlap Fan Debate, brought to you by Sky Bet.