Carragher thinks ‘world class’ Palmer could ditch ‘unstable’ Chelsea after ‘toxic’ turn
Jamie Carragher says Cole Palmer is “too good” to be stuck outside the Champions League and has warned Chelsea they risk losing their best player if the club continues to underachieve.
Writing in the The Telegraph, the Liverpool legend described Palmer as “world class” and believes the 22-year-old won’t tolerate life outside Europe’s top competition for much longer.
Palmer has played only 183 minutes of Champions League football in his career. That is worryingly low for a player of his calibre.
Chelsea must start satisfying his ambitions to take on Europe’s best, otherwise he will start asking himself how and when they will.
The warning comes amid growing discontent among the Chelsea fan base after another chaotic season, and Carragher made it clear that the England star’s patience won’t be unlimited.
There was a moment during Chelsea’s 3-0 defeat by Brighton… Palmer’s demeanour was one of frustration. It reminded me of Steven Gerrard during the more difficult periods at Liverpool, where he was looking around the pitch and realising team-mates were not at the required level.
The reason the transfer [for Gerrard] nearly happened was because world-class players can only tolerate mediocrity for so long. Careers are short, and those with ambition who feel their talent is unfulfilled cannot stand waiting.
Palmer has 22 goals and 10 assists in the league this season, and while Carragher stopped short of saying clubs should move for him, he did hint: “Predators will be circling and keeping tabs on what is going on at Stamford Bridge.”
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In what could be perceived as a nudge-nudge, wink-wink moment before that, the Sky Sports pundit also wrote about the likelihood of the English youngster being a transfer target for Premier League champions Liverpool.
Far-fetched? Too expensive? Most likely. Liverpool “going big” for footballers who are already established on mammoth and long contracts elsewhere is not their strategy, so if you read headlines saying “Jamie Carragher says Liverpool should buy Palmer” you are not reading this correctly.
Carragher also questioned the logic of Chelsea’s long-term contract model, warning it risks backfiring when it comes to elite talent like Palmer.
What is baffling is that any player would commit to a club for so many years, especially at a club who change their coach so frequently.
Unless Palmer or others have insisted upon a clause in their contract, they risk being trapped.
With uncertainty still hanging over Enzo Maresca’s position and Chelsea’s direction under Todd Boehly, Carragher suggested Palmer won’t wait around.
Only the most naive will believe that the top-class players in Chelsea’s squad will be happy playing Europa League football next year. That makes them vulnerable to unrest.
The most prominent criticism of Chelsea this season has come from their own supporters… It was on the point of turning toxic after the home draw with Ipswich Town.
