Chelsea can repeat Cole Palmer and Christopher Nkunku transfer trick with major £94m deals

It's the summer of 2023, Chelsea have signed RB Leipzig's star forward and attention turns towards a Wythenshawe-based Manchester club academy graduate for their transfer business. Skip forward 12 months, Chelsea have the chance to poach RB Leipzig's second-top scorer and a Wythenshawe-born Manchester United prodigy-turned-club centurion.

Signing Cole Palmer didn't go too badly. He has 20 goals and 10 assists in the league, why not try and do something similar? As for Christopher Nkunku, his debut season in England hasn't gone as planned but Chelsea do ultimately still own one of the most diverse attackers in world football, when fit.

As far as windows go, they are two good pieces of business. The transfer fees paid weren't astronomical either, especially not compared to some of the others we have seen either side of these deals.

How Nkunku and Palmer will slot together in 2024/25, when their relationship will actually be able to form (injury permitting), is one question. How Chelsea support them with other options is another.

This year the reliance has been on Palmer's shoulders too much. It is a burden he has taken without question, but to expect the same of him next season to this level would be quite the demand. Chelsea, as Mauricio Pochettino has explained, are in need of readymade options to provide a bit more in the now.

Noni Madueke and Mykhailo Mudryk have had flashes of form but that is about it. Nicolas Jackson has done admirably well with considerably more game time and pressure than he would have expected when arriving but could do with someone else to share the central striker role.

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Chelsea already have their own