Gary Palmer

Gary Neville makes Cole Palmer prediction after green-lighting Man United transfer

Former Manchester United captain Gary Neville has had his say on Chelsea star Cole Palmer after reports linking him with a move to Old Trafford

Gary Neville believes Chelsea forward Cole Palmer would be a superb signing for Manchester United. Reports in January claimed the attacking midfielder was unhappy at Stamford Bridge during his third campaign with the west London side.

Palmer was part of a team which struggled badly under Enzo Maresca, Liam Rosenior and interim head coach Calum McFarlane in the 2025/26 campaign. Chelsea finished 10th in the Premier League - missing out on Europe after failing to win a trophy.

The Blues' struggles came amid suggestions that Palmer may look to leave, with United among the sides linked. The 23-year-old grew up as a United supporter but progressed through the academy of bitter rivals Manchester City, who sold him to Chelsea for £42.5million in September 2023.

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However, the Englishman, who was not called up to Thomas Tuchel's World Cup squad, stated in April that he has 'no plans' to depart his current club. Now, former United captain Neville has delivered his verdict on whether Palmer could be a good signing for United if he decided to leave.

The former full-back was speaking to ex-centre-back Rio Ferdinand on his former teammates' YouTube channel - sharing his view on several players who would be brilliant at Old Trafford.

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He said: "When Manchester United signed Bryan Robson, Ron Atkinson said something along the lines of 'this is no risk, this is gold'. 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. 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.

"Declan Rice would have been the same. Sir Alex would have been all over those two. 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.

"I do like the signings of [Matheus] Cunha and [Bryan] Mbeumo last summer because they’ve had that grounding in the Premier League. 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. 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. But Neville conceded: "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."

Atalanta midfielder Ederson is set to become Michael Carrick's first signing this summer. The Reds have agreed a £35million deal and the Brazilian is set to sign a four-year contract with the option of an extra year.

United were hoping to conclude the move in early July, but that timescale is now set to shift after the 26-year-old was called up for the Brazil squad as a replacement for the injured Wesley.