Chelsea are ready to test Manchester City’s resolve in keeping Cole Palmer before Friday night’s transfer deadline.
The London club are believed to be preparing a formal bid for the 21-year-old after head coach Mauricio Pochettino supported an approach for Chelsea to add one more attacking player to their squad.
Palmer is under contract at City until 2026 and made an encouraging start to the season after scoring in the team’s Community Shield defeat to Arsenal and their UEFA Super Cup victory against Sevilla.
It is unclear whether City would sanction a departure, but Chelsea will try to bring the England under-21 international to Stamford Bridge if given sufficient encouragement a deal could be done.
Chelsea have also considered a number of alternatives, including Arsenal’s Emile Smith Rowe and Nottingham Forest’s Brennan Johnson, although Tottenham are progressing in their pursuit of the latter.
Palmer seeks regular playing time, but his path to the first team has been complicated by the £55.5 million arrival ($70.47m) of winger Jérémy Doku from Stade Rennais.
