Sky Sports pundit Paul Merson claims Chelsea “will sell” Cole Palmer if they receive a bid of around £100m in the future.

The 22-year-old only signed a new nine-year contract last month but Merson says the club are simply investing in young players and they have no intention of keeping him at Stamford Bridge for that long:

“If Cole Palmer becomes unbelievable and keeps on doing what he is doing, then he will be a £100m player. They will sell him for £100m. That’s how it works, they don’t want all these players to run their contracts out.”

Palmer has been in outstanding form since arriving at Chelsea last year, scoring 26 goals and providing 19 assists in 51 appearances. If he does continue to produce similar performances in the future and he is still sold, there would be a mutiny among the fanbase.

Chelsea’s strategy when it comes to contracts

What Merson doesn’t understand about these lengthy contracts is that it’s a workaround for the Premier League’s Profit and Sustainability rules.

Long deals allow for amortisation, which means they can spread the cost over a greater number of accounting years.

The Premier League have recently put a five-year cap on amortisation but, even so, these lengthy contracts mean they can give out lower basic wages and stay within PSR.

Would Chelsea actually sell Palmer for £100m?

As we have seen with the likes of Conor Gallagher, the club do like making “pure profit” on homegrown players but the key difference is Palmer isn’t from the academy.

He was signed from Manchester City so he wouldn’t raise as much money from an accountancy perspective. From a footballing point of view, though, it is bizarre to even consider the possibility, especially as he is currently the team’s best player.

Find out who is in Chelsea’s first-team squad for the 2024/2025 season here