Gary Neville praises Cole Palmer as 'gold' for Manchester United

Gary Neville can see exactly what Cole Palmer would bring to Manchester United. He just can’t see Chelsea letting it happen.

The former United defender believes Palmer is the kind of ready-made, game-changing signing Old Trafford used to specialise in – the sort of deal that once delivered Rio Ferdinand, Wayne Rooney and Roy Keane. In Neville’s eyes, Palmer belongs in that bracket of “gold”.

The 24-year-old endured a stuttering first half of last season, battling for rhythm and fitness in an erratic Chelsea side. He still finished with 10 Premier League goals in a team that never truly found its stride. That productivity, in those circumstances, has not gone unnoticed.

Links to a move away from Stamford Bridge surfaced late last season, with suggestions Palmer was unsettled. Manchester United and Manchester City were both mentioned as potential destinations if Chelsea opened the door.

Neville doesn’t think they will.

This is gold

Speaking on Rio Ferdinand’s YouTube channel, Neville reached back into United’s past to explain how highly he rates Palmer.

“When Manchester United signed Bryan Robson, Ron Atkinson said something along the lines of ‘this is no risk, this is gold’,” Neville said.

“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.”

For Neville, those signings share a theme: proven quality, Premier League hardened, and almost certain to elevate the team.

“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,” he added. “Declan Rice would have been the same. Sir Alex would have been all over those two.”

Proven in the league

Neville broadened the point beyond English talent. He cited Robin van Persie’s move from Arsenal to United as the template for a Premier League-ready signing who arrives with guarantees rather than questions.

“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,” Neville said.

That’s why he liked the profiles of players such as Matheus Cunha and Bryan Mbeumo last summer – players, he argued, who had already shown they could handle the division and were hungry to climb.

“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. Those type of signings are good.”

Palmer, in Neville’s mind, sits at the very top of that scale.

“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,” he said.

Then came the reality check.

“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.”

Chelsea are understood to view Palmer as “untouchable”, a cornerstone of their rebuild rather than a saleable asset. On Neville’s assessment, they have every reason to cling on.

Carrick era starts with Ederson

While a marquee move for Palmer remains fantasy, United are preparing to make their first concrete step of the Michael Carrick era.

The club are set to complete a deal for Brazilian midfielder Ederson, who will become the first signing since Carrick’s appointment as permanent manager. United intend to add at least one more midfielder this summer as they try to give Carrick the tools to build on a promising start in the dugout.

Palmer, for now, stays in the “what if” category for United. The kind of player Neville believes would once have been non-negotiable for a club used to dictating the market – and the kind of talent Chelsea now seem determined to build around rather than cash in on.