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Cole Palmer could push for a transfer away from Chelsea if the club isn't able to match his ambition to win the Premier League, according to a former Blues midfielder.
Chelsea have won the Conference League and Club World Cup since Palmer's move from Manchester City but their last Premier League triumph came under Antonio Conte in 2016-17.
'I’m sure Palmer will ask for a transfer request'
"If Cole Palmer decides to move away from Chelsea then that’s his business, but I just want him to respect the club, because they are the ones who have given him the tools to become the player he is now," Desailly told Card Player.
"I would love him to stay at Stamford Bridge because he’s got a key role in the team, even if Enzo Maresca used him in various positions.
"I believe Palmer wants more stability and a system that’s built for him, but he still needs to fully recover from his groin injury and get back to full fitness.
"His recent performances speak for themselves, so he needs to stay humble and come back into the team to help the club, regardless of whether he stays or goes.
"The question is whether he feel like Chelsea are going to win the Premier League in the next two seasons. If he doesn’t, I’m sure he will ask for a transfer request to a club that will build a system around him.
"For now, however, he needs to hit his previous levels for Chelsea to help them and their new manager through this period."
England star Palmer played in 70 Premier League matches in his first two seasons at Chelsea but has appeared in just 12 so far in 2025-26, and only once in the Champions League.
Despite having had a taste of Premier League and Champions League glory with Man City, there's little indication that any desire to leave Chelsea is on the horizon but Palmer is a player who wants to win silverware and operate at the highest levels of the game.
Desailly knows what that takes. He was an FA Cup winner with the Blues, a Champions League winner with Marseille and a Serie A winner at AC Milan, where the defensive midfield legend played the best football of his career in the mid-nineties.
In 1998 and 2000, he won the World Cup and European Championship as a senior player in the France team. He was sent off in the World Cup final in Paris in 1998 but is regarded as one of the best deep-lying midfield players of his generation.
Desailly is ranked at no.15 FourFourTwo's list of the best footballers of the 90s.
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