Manchester United Jajaki Peluang Transfer Cole Palmer dari Chelsea

Manchester United dilaporkan tengah menjelajahi berbagai jalan untuk memperkuat lini serang mereka menjelang bursa transfer musim panas dengan membidik bintang Chelsea, Cole Palmer, pada Sabtu (16/5/2026).

Langkah ini diambil Setan Merah demi menambah kedalaman skuad elite di sepertiga akhir lapangan sekaligus meringankan beban kreativitas yang selama ini dipikul oleh Bruno Fernandes.

Mantan pemain sayap Manchester United, Ryan Giggs, memberikan penilaian positif mengenai rumor transfer penyerang berusia 24 tahun tersebut saat berbicara dalam acara YouTube Rio Ferdinand Presents.

"Yeah, he would, Manchester lad. Where would he play with obviously Bruno [Fernandes] at No.10? He could play off the right possibly. But yeah, we talk about [Rasmus] Hojlund and [Benjamin] Sesko, it’s only really Bruno who is creating things time and time again. What if Bruno has a bad day or he’s injured? You need three or four players in your squad who can make things happen for these players to put the ball in the back of the net." ujar Ryan Giggs, Mantan Pemain Manchester United.

Meskipun spekulasi eksternal terus meningkat mengenai potensi kembalinya ia ke kota Manchester, Palmer secara terbuka meredam kabar bahwa dirinya merasa tidak betah tinggal di ibu kota saat diwawancarai oleh The Guardian.

"Everyone just talks. When I see it I just laugh. Obviously Manchester is my home. All my family are there, but I don’t miss it. Maybe I’ll miss it if I don’t go for three months or something. But then when I get home I think there’s nothing there for me anyway." kata Cole Palmer, Penyerang Chelsea.

Palmer juga sempat menambahkan pandangannya mengenai ambisi klubnya saat ini untuk meraih gelar juara pada musim depan apabila proses perekrutan pemain baru berjalan dengan tepat.

"We want to win now and I think if we add right in the summer we can compete for serious trophies next season. I don’t think we’re far off. If you sign the right players in the right positions and the right characters and profiles, I think we have more than enough quality to compete and be more consistent than we’ve shown over this season." tambah Cole Palmer, Penyerang Chelsea.

Di sisi lain, mantan gelandang legendaris Setan Merah, Paul Scholes, justru menyatakan keraguannya terkait posisi bermain yang cocok bagi Palmer jika transfer ini benar-benar terwujud.

"I don’t see where he plays for United, that’s the problem. I see him in a similar position to Bruno, look, he’s not going to be as infuential as Bruno has been in this team. Whether you can play him off the right side, cutting in with his left foot then yeah, look, he’s a brilliant footballer, again, he’s gone quiet but everyone at Chelsea has gone quiet, I’m not quite sure what’s happening at that club. As many good players you can get in your team then why not? He’s a match winner on his day." tutur Paul Scholes, Mantan Gelandang Manchester United.

Scholes kemudian menyarankan agar Manchester United lebih memprioritaskan pembenahan di sektor gelandang tengah dengan membidik Elliot Anderson dari Nottingham Forest untuk bermitra dengan Kobbie Mainoo.

"I think last summer was probably quite good, they sorted the forward line out, [Benjamin] Sesko is looking good as well, okay, he’s picked up another injury, they might possibly need another forward. I just think every time I watch United they get attacked through the middle so often, they get overran in that midfield area. Casemiro has had a little bit of a rebirth but he’s never going to have the legs if you’re going to want to compete at the top end of the Premier League. And I also think they need one or two centre-backs who are a little bit more physical. But definitely that area of the pitch, the middle of the pitch, somebody with Kobbie [Mainoo], we know how clever Kobbie is, Kobbie can play the game in his brain, legs aren’t a massive thing for him, as long as you’ve got someone who can play that position really well next to him. I think they might need two of them. You can about Anderson, [Sandro] Tonali, [Adam] Wharton, they might need two of those three, of two top quality midfield players just to go into that area to try to get control of games." kata Paul Scholes, Mantan Gelandang Manchester United.

Saat ditegaskan kembali mengenai pilihan utamanya untuk mengisi lini tengah Setan Merah pada musim depan, Scholes memantapkan pilihannya pada sosok gelandang Nottingham Forest tersebut.

"I think it would. I really liked him when he was at Newcastle. Well, Newcastle had to sell him because of the PSR stuff. But what I’ve seen him of him has been nothing short of brilliant really. What he’s done for Forest has been really good, in the Europa League, he’s still got to go to that next level, he’s done it with England, well, England games are very hard to gauge because I don’t think they’re playing the best competition until they get to the World Cup when those bigger games come and well get a better idea. He’ll still have to test himself in the Champions League, but he looks to me like he’d be able to handle it. Absolutely no problem. But as I say, I think one or two will be needed, not just the one. But Anderson and Mainoo, I think I’d be happy with that for the start of next season." pungkas Paul Scholes, Mantan Gelandang Manchester United.

Berdasarkan laporan dari Metro, manajemen Chelsea tetap bersikap keras kepala bahwa bintang mereka tersebut tidak akan dijual, terlebih karena Palmer masih terikat kontrak panjang hingga Juni 2033.