Chelsea preparing huge £130m bid to sign their new Cole Palmer for Rosenior

Just over a month ago, it felt like Chelsea were on course for a serious title challenge, and then December happened.

The festive period has been a problematic time for the Blues in recent years, but this season it was worse than usual, with the side falling to eighth in the Premier League and replacing Enzo Maresca with Liam Rosenior.

The new boss got his tenure off to the best possible start with a thumping 5-1 win over Charlton Athletic in the FA Cup, but to help him kick on and really achieve greatness, the club need to back him in the market.

Fortunately, it seems Chelsea are planning to do just that and are looking to bring in a hugely exciting youngster in the summer who could have a Cole Palmer-style impact on Rosenior’s team.

Chelsea target their new Palmer

He might not be in the best of form at the moment, in large part due to his fitness problems, but Cole Palmer is undoubtedly one of the most important players at Chelsea.

The former Manchester City gem arrived at the club in the summer of 2023 to middling fanfare, but over the last two and a half years, he has shown everyone he can be a world-class player.

For example, in 109 appearances for the club, totalling 8619 minutes, the 23-year-old has scored 47 goals and provided 29 assists.

That comes out to a sensational average of a goal involvement every 1.43 games, or every 113.40 minutes.

So, with numbers like these, it would make sense for the club to go out and look for another Palmer-like signing to make, and it appears they’ve found their target.

At least that is according to a recent report from Spain, which claims Chelsea are very interested in Fermin Lopez.

In fact, the report has revealed that the Blues are so keen to land the Barcelona star that they’ve already made contact with his camp and are prepared to spend 150m on him, which is about £130m, or a club-record amount.

The report states that while the Catalan giants view the youngster as vital to their project, an offer of this magnitude may force them to sell due to their own financial constraints.

In all, while it might require a truly monumental sum to make happen, this is a transfer Chelsea should pursue as Lopez looks like a superstar in the making and could be their next Palmer.

Why Lopez could be Chelsea’s next Palmer

The first similarity between Palmer and Lopez is actually the proposed move itself.

If this transfer were to happen, it’d be another example of the Blues picking up a highly rated soon-to-be superstar from one of the world’s best clubs, as they did with the former City gem in 2023.

The second similarity is where the pair play on the pitch.

Like the Englishman, the Spaniard has shown an impressive and useful level of positional versatility in his short career.

Not only can he play in attacking and central midfield, but he can also play out wide, although he does tend to favour the left-hand side instead of the right.

With all that said, the most important similarity, and the main reason why the Barça gem could be Rosenior’s own Palmer, is that he’s simply an extraordinarily talented footballer and someone capable of transforming the Blues’ attack.

That might sound hyperbolic, but it’s really not.

For example, in 21 appearances this season, totalling just 1316 minutes, the “sensational” 22-year-old, as dubbed by content creator Neal Gardner, has scored eight goals and provided nine assists.

That comes out to an incredible average of a goal involvement every 1.23 games, or every 77.41 minutes, and if that is not a world-class rate of return, what is?

Moreover, his underlying numbers are just as impressive.

According to FBref, he ranks in the top 1% of attacking midfielders and wingers in Europe’s top five leagues for goals plus assists and goal-creating actions, the top 7% for shots on target and passes into the final third, the top 10% for shot-creating actions and more, all per 90.

Ultimately, while it would cost a king’s ransom, Chelsea should do all they can to sign Lopez this summer, as he could have a Palmer-like impact on Rosenior’s side.

Related

Chelsea submit mega £104m bid to sign their answer to Declan Rice

The international game-changer would be an incredible signing for Chelsea, and Rosenior’s own Declan Rice.