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  "path": "/2026/03/10/chelsea-star-backed-join-barcelona-the-fans-love-him-27337251/",
  "publishedAt": "2026-03-10T07:01:28.000Z",
  "site": "https://metro.co.uk",
  "tags": [
    "Football",
    "Sport",
    "Champions League",
    "Chelsea FC",
    "Chelsea transfer news",
    "Cole Palmer",
    "Emile Heskey",
    "England men's football team",
    "FC Barcelona",
    "FC Barcelona transfer news",
    "Liam Rosenior",
    "Premier League",
    "Barcelona",
    "Chelsea",
    "reports claiming he is not completely settled in west London",
    "completed a £40m move to Chelsea in 2023",
    "Manchester City",
    "Club World Cup",
    "Sign up here",
    "The Sun",
    "not totally settled at Chelsea",
    "Old Trafford",
    "OLBG",
    "largely struggled under former manager Ruben Amorim",
    "supports HTML5 video",
    "persuade Palmer to make the move from Chelsea",
    "BestBettingSites",
    "https://www.instagram.com/p/DVeu9YrCGbj/?hl=en&img_index=1",
    "emphatic Champions League win over Barcelona earlier in the season",
    "face holders PSG in the first leg of their last-16 tie on Wednesday night",
    "check our sport page",
    "Facebook",
    "Twitter",
    "Instagram",
    "Add Metro as a Preferred Source on Google Add as preferred source"
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  "textContent": "Is a move from Chelsea to Arsenal on the cards? (Picture: Getty)\n\nEmile Heskey has named Barcelona as one of two possible destinations for Chelsea and England star Cole Palmer.\n\nPalmer has been linked with a move away from Stamford Bridge in recent months, with reports claiming he is not completely settled in west London.\n\nThe 23-year-old completed a £40m move to Chelsea in 2023 and quickly established himself as not only one of the best players at the club but in the Premier League as a whole.\n\nPalmer’s talents were recognised at Manchester City but the fierce competition at the Etihad Stadium meant he only played 19 league games for his boyhood club before being sold.\n\nMan City must have instantly regretted their transfer decision, however, as Palmer hit the ground running at Chelsea, scoring 27 goals and making 15 assists during his first season at the club.\n\nWhile failing to hit those numbers again, Palmer has continued to impress ever since, scoring 18 goals last season as Chelsea qualified for the Champions League and won both the Conference League and Club World Cup.\n\nThis season has been more frustrating for Palmer, who has missed 11 league games due to niggly injuries and a slight dip in form.\n\n##  Your football fix\n\n**Metro** 's Head of Sport James Goldman delivers punchy analysis, transfer talk and his take on the week's biggest stories direct to your inbox every week.\n\nSign up here, it's an open goal.\n\nChelsea and England star Cole Palmer (Picture: Getty)\n\nLast month The Sun claimed Palmer was not totally settled at Chelsea and was open to a move back to Manchester, with United said to be interested in a deal.\n\nHeskey would not be surprised if Palmer did secure a stunning move to Old Trafford but says the club he can see him at is Spanish giants Barcelona.\n\nAsked whether he expects Palmer to stay at Chelsea for a good few more years, ex-England striker Heskey told OLBG: ‘If Cole Palmer is a Manchester United fan, probably not!\n\n‘I could see someone like him in a Barcelona shirt. The way that he plays, the fans would love him.\n\nFormer England striker Emile Heskey (Picture: Getty)\n\n‘But then again, when you’re a kid and you’re growing up, there’s things that you dream of doing as a footballer.\n\n‘You dream of playing at a World Cup. You dream of putting on that England shirt. You dream of lifting the FA Cup. Things like that. And you dream of playing for your boyhood club.\n\n‘So Cole will have dreams too, possibly to play for Manchester United, so I wouldn’t put it past him if he did turn up there and they did take him on.’\n\nManchester United largely struggled under former manager Ruben Amorim but have climbed back into the Champions League spots under caretaker boss Michael Carrick.\n\nTo view this video please enable JavaScript, and consider upgrading to a web browser that supports HTML5 video\n\nUp Next\n\nPrevious Page\n\nNext Page\n\nUnited’s upturn in form could earn Carrick the permanent job and Pat Nevin believes the ex-England midfielder could then persuade Palmer to make the move from Chelsea.\n\n‘Does Cole Palmer fancy playing for Manchester United? That’s it. Nobody knows except Cole Palmer,’ Nevin told BestBettingSites.\n\n‘If he says Manchester United, I’ve heard hints that he was a United fan as a kid. I don’t know if that’s true, but I’ve heard that was his team as a kid. That’s a draw.\n\n‘When you look at what United are doing just now and how they’re playing, and the possibility that you might actually have stability at Manchester United, that becomes a temptation. With Michael Carrick, it just feels like a different place. It feels totally different.\n\n> https://www.instagram.com/p/DVeu9YrCGbj/?hl=en&img_index=1\n\n‘I’ve been at Old Trafford a lot of times over the last few years and it’s been a hard place to watch football sometimes.\n\n‘The feeling hasn’t even been ugly, just flat. Worse than anger is people being fed up, and you never want to see that at Manchester United because of the club it is, the history it has and the size it is. The Premier League needs a big Manchester United.\n\n‘I hope Michael Carrick gets the job long term. I think the group that’s in just now has already shown enough that they can lift the club.\n\n‘I hope they get the job for at least the next year after this season, whatever happens between now and the end of the season. I’d give them that.\n\n‘Would that be enough to tempt Cole? I wouldn’t be shocked.’\n\nPalmer missed Chelsea’s emphatic Champions League win over Barcelona earlier in the season, with the Blues beating ten-man Barca 3-0.\n\nThat victory helped Chelsea advance straight to the knockout stages and they face holders PSG in the first leg of their last-16 tie on Wednesday night.\n\nBarcelona also advanced to the last-16 stage where they will face Chelsea’s Premier League rivals Newcastle United for a place in the quarter-finals.\n\n**For more stories like this,check our sport page**.\n\n**Follow Metro Sport for the latest news on**Facebook, **Twitter and Instagram**.\n\nComment now Comments  Add Metro as a Preferred Source on Google Add as preferred source ",
  "title": "Chelsea star backed to join Barcelona: ‘The fans would love him’"
}