Chelsea have endured a rollercoaster season that may yet end in success in 2026.
While the London giants are very much in the hunt for European places, sitting sixth with 34 points through 22 matches, there is a clear feeling within the club that they should be achieving more.
The Blues sacked manager Enzo Maresca on New Year's Day and hired Liam Rosenior from BlueCo's sister club Strasbourg, hoping the coach they developed in France can carry them higher than the Italian could.
Part of their struggles this season can also be attributed to the absence of star Cole Palmer, who has been injured for much of the campaign and struggled for form amid those fitness difficulties. It's been a frustrating season for the former Manchester City player, who has scored just four times in the Premier League in 2025/26 without registering a single assist.
It has now reached a stage where Palmer, who has managed only five league goals in 12 months, is being linked with a fresh start at Manchester United.
AllSportsPeople has the latest on what we know about Palmer's potential transfer prospects, and why he has been linked with a move away in the first place.
MORE: Is Cole Palmer injured? The latest on Chelsea star's recent absences
Cole Palmer to Man United: Why transfer talk has grown
As rumours of Palmer's unhappiness at Chelsea simmered on social media, The Sun reported on January 22 that the player may be looking to find his way out of Stamford Bridge.
The report claimed that Palmer "does not particularly enjoy life down south and misses his friends from back home" according to unnamed sources. Palmer was born in Wythenshawe in Greater Manchester and lived in the city region before his transfer to Chelsea in 2023.
The suggestions that he is unsettled in London, combined with his lack of consistent form and fitness this season, have led to rumours that he could return to his roots.
Cole Palmer 🥶 pic.twitter.com/6ZIoW7Y68j
— UEFA EURO (@UEFAEURO) December 15, 2025
Palmer has been linked with a potential move to Manchester United, because of his connections to the club and their need for a player of his calibre. However, this still seems extremely far from a move that would come to fruition — as does a return to City, the club where he was trained.
Chelsea boss Rosenior insisted that Palmer is "a huge part of our long-term plans" and "an outstanding player" — one he insisted was not unhappy at the club.
"I've had numerous conversations with Cole and he seems, and is, very, very happy to be here," Rosenior said.
"Every player goes through difficult moments in their career with injuries, but that is no indication of his quality."
Is Cole Palmer a Man United fan?
Being from Wythenshawe in the south of Greater Manchester, Palmer grew up in the shadow of Old Trafford. Well... Okay, not exactly, but his hometown is closer to the United stadium than that of Manchester City.
He has gone on record saying his idol as a child was Wayne Rooney, United's former captain and all-time record goal-scorer, and there are pictures available online of a young Palmer in a Red Devils kit.
Despite this, Palmer joined the Manchester City academy in 2010 at the age of eight, progressing all the way through the youth teams until his first-team debut in September of 2020 at 18 years of age.
Does Cole Palmer have a release clause?
After joining Chelsea in the summer of 2023, Palmer signed a new Chelsea contract just one year later in August of 2024.
There was speculation shortly after it was signed that the new deal included a conditional release clause that would trigger in the event that Chelsea failed to qualify for the Champions League, but Ben Jacobs of CBS Sports a month later refuted those reports, saying Chelsea's incentive-based contracts "do not offer this type of release clause".
This very specific language from Jacobs does not rule out the possibility that Palmer does have some other type of release clause that is either consistently active or becomes active on a certain date, but that is believed to be unlikely at this point.
Cole Palmer contract length, salary at Chelsea
Palmer's latest contract signed in August of 2024 tied him to the club for a whopping nine years, not expiring until June 30 of 2033.
This is consistent with Chelsea's recent contract strategy under BlueCo, targeting long-term contracts for their newly signed or extended players in order to amortise the costs over a longer period of time and mitigate the yearly hit to their books.
Palmer's contract makes him one of the top earners at Chelsea. He reportedly makes £130,000 ($177,400 / €150,000) per week or £7.8m ($10.6m / €9m) per year in base salary plus significant incentives that can drive his earnings much higher with both individual and team success.