3 hours ago
36
Chelsea could be sitting on a fortune after paying just £42.5 million for Cole Palmer, who is now worth more than double that amount.
The 23-year-old, who faced his share of criticism during the 2024/25 season, delivered his best performances on the biggest stages - the Europa Conference League and FIFA Club World Cup. Although he didn’t find the net in the Conference League final against Real Betis, Palmer played a key role by providing two assists in the 4-1 win.
In the Club World Cup final, he was even more decisive, scoring twice in a commanding 3-0 victory over Paris Saint-Germain. Palmer also set up the third for Joao Pedro and received the player of the tournament award.
In less than two years at Stamford Bridge, his value to Chelsea has significantly increased.
Reach's Chief Business of Football Writer, Dave Powell, told football.london: "When Cole Palmer joined Chelsea from Manchester City in the summer of 2023 it was met with some intrigue.
"Palmer, then 21, had been on the periphery of Pep Guardiola ’s setup at City but was deemed an expendable asset when Chelsea came calling, with his £40m guaranteed sum with £2.5m in add-ons perhaps seeming a lot at the time for a player with just 19 Premier League appearances to his name.
"Fast forward two years and Palmer is one of world football’s most coveted players. His two-goals and man-of-the-match display in the final of the FIFA Club World Cup against Paris Saint-Germain on Sunday catapulted him to a new level of stardom.
"At a time when US eyeballs are on football a year out from the World Cup on North American soil, Palmer was the show stealer at the Club World Cup, picking up his accolade as player of the tournament from US President Donald Trump.
"Such trinkets may seem immaterial in the grand scheme of things, and delivering success for Chelsea in the Premier League and the Champions League will ultimately determine how Palmer’s stock ascends, but Chelsea have a bonafide superstar on their hands, even if he may not tick the usual boxes.
"According to analysts at the Swiss-based CIES Football Observatory, Palmer’s market value at the end of June stood at between €108m and €139m (£94m to £121m).
Powell continued : "After the Club World Cup, and factoring in a club’s desire to keep hold of their star man above and beyond what the metrics would determine to be fair market value, a price tag of between £150m and £200m is far more apt. There are only six players on the list above Palmer when it comes to market value. Lamine Yamal, Erling Haaland, Jude Bellingham, Florian Wirtz and Jamal Musiala.
"Yamal wasn’t at the competition, nor was Wirtz, while Haaland and Bellingham failed to shine, and Musiala suffered a broken ankle in the competition that will see him sidelined for a chunk of next season. The stage was Palmer’s and he took his chance.
"While his rather unassuming, say-it-as-it-is demeanour might be slightly off kilter, the reality is that it cuts through for a lot of fans because Palmer is unapologetically himself. That is a valuable commodity for football clubs when matched with elite talent, and Chelsea have a player that could be impactful both on and off the pitch for them, and one whose accolades this summer and place in the global spotlight, particularly among US fans, will play extremely well as the club looks to leverage what was achieved at the Club World Cup into more revenue-generating activities.
"The Palmer deal for City at the time appeared to be a good one. To book £40m profit for a player with 19 Premier League games and no goals seemed good work. But the profile of Palmer was missed, and Chelsea have captured £100m or more in value while City have seen that disappear.
"Palmer has all the tools to be a generational talent and if he can light up the World Cup in North America next summer he will be a global star that will be hugely valuable to Chelsea competitively and commercially."
This article contains affiliate links, we will receive a commission on any sales we generate from it. Learn more
English (US) ·