Gary Neville has had his say on Chelsea forward Cole Palmer amid previous links with Manchester United
Gary Neville reckons Chelsea’s Cole Palmer would prove an outstanding acquisition for Manchester United. Reports surfaced in January suggesting the attacking midfielder was growing discontented at Stamford Bridge during his third season with the west London outfit.
Palmer was part of a squad that endured a torrid time under Enzo Maresca, Liam Rosenior and interim boss Calum McFarlane throughout the 2025/26 campaign. Chelsea limped to a 10th-place finish in the Premier League – denied European football after failing to secure silverware.
The Blues’ woes emerged alongside speculation that Palmer might seek pastures new, with United amongst the clubs reportedly monitoring his situation. The 23-year-old was raised as a United fan but came through the youth ranks at fierce rivals Manchester City, who offloaded him to Chelsea for £42.5million in September 2023.
Nevertheless, the England international, who was overlooked for Thomas Tuchel’s World Cup squad, insisted in April that he has ‘no plans’ to leave his present club. Now, former United skipper Neville has offered his assessment on whether Palmer would represent a shrewd piece of business for United should he opt to move on.
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The ex-full-back was in conversation with former centre-half Rio Ferdinand on his old teammate’s YouTube channel – discussing various players who would flourish at Old Trafford.
He said: “When Manchester United signed Bryan Robson, Ron Atkinson said something along the lines of ‘this is no risk, this is gold’. I think Harry Kane would have been that for United, that would have been gold. You [Ferdinand] joining from Leeds, Wazza [Rooney] joining from Everton, Roy Keane from Nottingham Forest – those are all gold.
“Declan Rice was the same before he joined Arsenal. They’re absolute guarantees, they’re certainties and in the end they will look cheap. If Sir Alex Ferguson was still in charge of Man United he would never have allowed Harry Kane to be anywhere else, he would have made sure he came to Old Trafford.
“Declan Rice would have been the same. Sir Alex would have been all over those two. It’s not about just signing English players because look at Robin van Persie – he was established in the Premier League and you knew he was going to deliver for you.
“I do like the signings of [Matheus] Cunha and [Bryan] Mbeumo last summer because they’ve had that grounding in the Premier League. They weren’t ‘gold’ but there was a removal of risk because they’d played in the Premier League and they were stepping up a level and they were young and hungry.
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“Those type of signings are good. There’s talk of Cole Palmer and that looks like a signing that could be gold for Manchester United if he came to Old Trafford.” However, Neville conceded: “I don’t think it would happen though, I think Chelsea will hang onto him. But there’s very few signings like that available, it’s only every few years that these type of players become available.”
Atalanta midfielder Ederson is poised to become Michael Carrick’s first acquisition this summer. The Reds have struck an agreement worth an initial £35million, and the Brazilian is expected to put pen to paper on a four-year deal with the option of an additional year.
United had hoped to wrap up the transfer in early July, but that timeline is now likely to change after the 26-year-old received a call-up to the Brazil squad as cover for the injured Wesley.
