Chelsea face losing Cole Palmer in 'unthinkable' deal as previously unknown contract clause comes to light

Chelsea may be forced to ‘consider offers’ for Cole Palmer if a certain thing doesn’t happen this season, according to reports.

Palmer, 22, joined the Blues from Manchester City in a deal reportedly worth £42.5m in the summer of 2023.

Since then, he has shown exactly how good he is and even earned himself a call-up to England’s Euro 2024 squad.

During the tournament, he netted a sumptuous equaliser in the final against Spain, which added to his popularity.

And despite the obvious disappointment about missing out on international honours, the setback has appeared to fuel Palmer’s motivation, with the attacking midfielder returning impressive stats of 14 goals and six assists in 28 appearances for Chelsea this term.

But the England man has arguably not been able to test himself at the elite level as much as he would have liked with the Blues competing in Europe’s third-tier competition, the Conference League, for which he wasn’t included in the 25-man squad.

Cole Palmer is one of Chelsea's star men (Credit:Getty)

Now, it has been claimed that the club may be forced to listen to offers for Palmer if they fail to qualify for the Champions League, according to TEAMtalk.

The report suggests that there “are clauses in certain players’ contracts” which would force the club to listen to offers.

After 25 matches, Chelsea are sixth in the Premier League, which would mean they finish in a Europa League qualification spot as things stand.

Just last week, former Liverpool defender Jamie Carragher issued a 'warning' to Chelsea about Palmer's future.

“The idea that this project is going to take two or three years - the problem is that the best players in the team now won’t wait,” Carragher said on Sky Sports.

“Cole Palmer is one of the best players in the Premier League. He’s good enough to be competing for the biggest honours in the Premier League and Champions League.

“He scored in a European Championship final. That’s something that Chelsea have got to keep in the back of their mind.

“He won’t wait around for this idea that, in a couple of years, we’ll get to the Champions League.”

However, journalist Ben Jacobs explained exactly what he knows about the situation.

"Understand no Chelsea player has any clause in their contract allowing an exit if the club fail to qualify for UCL," Jacobs wrote on X. "This includes Cole Palmer.

"Chelsea's incentive-driven contracts, which have already seen Palmer rewarded with an incremental wage increase and Enzo Fernandez extended, do not offer this type of release clause, formal or informal."