England midfielder Cole Palmer has signed a two-year extension with Chelsea following a brilliant season which culminated with a second-place finish at the 2024 UEFA European Championship in Germany.
Palmer set many records for a debutant at a new club last season following his switch from Manchester City to Chelsea. Despite the Blues’ final finish, his performance was enough to earn him the Premier League player of the season award, making him the first player outside the top four to earn this award in several seasons.
He was rewarded with his first call-ups to the England Three Lions last season, which culminated in a callup to the Euros. Despite being down the pecking order thanks to the intricacies of national team football, Palmer still proved that he was a worthy call-up with performances that were pivotal in England reaching the final where they lost to Spain.
He is now looked upon as England’s next brightest star alongside Bukayo Saka, with both of them touted to play key roles in the Three Lions’ future dominance.
His transfer market value has also greatly risen, placing him in the £120 million bracket among players. However, no team is looking to sign him just yet but Chelsea have now made sure to secure his future and a huge payout if he chooses to leave in the coming years.
He was originally signed to a seven year contract which was to run out in 2031, but now, he will stay at the club until 2033. This means Chelsea fans could enjoy the player for nine more years unless another club is willing to fork out hundreds of millions for the player.
His salary has also been bumped up from £80,000 per week to above £120,000 per week, putting him at the level of Enzo Fernandez and Moises Caicedo as one of the club’s highest earners.
Palmer is set to play more centrally this term under Enzo Maresca as the Italian looks to unleash the players creativity by giving him more freedom to roam.
This extension has not gone down well with Paul Merson, however.
The former Arsenal man and current football pundit has bashed the club for signing players to contracts that are that long.
“I don’t know what they are doing,” he told Sky Sports. “You’re talking about nine years’ time, how can you tell what he’s going to be in nine years’ time? He’s had an unbelievable season and is a good player but this season, every team that plays, the first thing in the team talk is stop Cole Palmer playing. That’s what he has got now the whole time.”
“Now you’re giving him a nine-year contract. I like him, but they are giving these players seven, eight, nine-year contracts. Some of them don’t even play or get in the team.”
“You can’t tell me what these players will be like in six or seven years’ time. Last season he was unreal, this season he is marked. It is going to be hard. If he gets 15 goals next season I will be saying fair play to him.”
