Cole Palmer: Martin Keown anticipates that the Chelsea star will depart the club even after signing a new contract.

Martin Keown has expressed his belief that Cole Palmer will depart Chelsea “in the next couple of years” following a tumultuous second half of the Premier League season for The Blues.

After a challenging campaign under Mauricio Pochettino in 2023/24, where Chelsea managed to scrape a sixth-place finish, the club initially appeared to be on the right track this season. They found themselves in second place, trailing only Liverpool on Christmas Day.

However, the situation has since deteriorated, with Chelsea now languishing 21 points behind the league leaders and embroiled in a fierce battle for a top-four finish. It seems that fifth place may be the only route to securing UEFA Champions League football for next season.

Despite the west London club’s record spending in recent transfer windows, their performances on the pitch have left much to be desired. Keown, a TNT Sports expert, has made a striking prediction regarding Palmer’s future, even though the 22-year-old recently signed a lucrative nine-year contract with the club.

“Palmer’s probably wondering, ‘Hold on, what have I really signed for?’ I could see him leaving that football club in the next couple of years,” Keown remarked on the Premier League Breakdown Show.

Chelsea’s recent form has been concerning, with the team suffering three consecutive defeats in February. They faced setbacks against Brighton & Hove Albion on two occasions—once in the league and once in the FA Cup—alongside a loss to Aston Villa.

While they managed to bounce back with four consecutive victories against relegation-threatened Southampton and Leicester City, as well as progressing past Copenhagen in the UEFA Conference League last 16, their momentum was halted by a defeat to Arsenal at the Emirates Stadium. This marked their seventh game without a win against the Gunners.

Lucy Ward has described Chelsea’s recent performances as “really flat,” attributing part of their struggles to injury woes.

“Chelsea have struggled with the injuries. Cole Palmer has been brilliant, and then Nicolas Jackson got injured, Noni Madueke got injured, and that little right-hand side and that little relationship between those three has really affected them,” she explained to TNT Sports.

“All Premier League teams can talk about injuries, but Chelsea, when he (Maresca) was consistent with his selections, and then in the Conference League, he’d have a completely different XI. It worked because the Conference League XI had a couple of players who transitioned into the Premier League XI, and it started to work. Then, the injury to Jackson marked the beginning of their downfall.”