Cole Palmer rockets up Chelsea earners list with lucrative two-year contract extension

Cole Palmer has rocketed up the list of Chelsea’s highest earners after signing a lucrative two-year extension to his contract.

Palmer is now committed to Chelsea until at least 2033, meaning he is contracted to the club for the next nine years.

Chelsea also want to hand striker Nicolas Jackson a two-year extension that would commit him to the club until 2033.

As revealed by Telegraph Sport, Chelsea’s plan had been to incrementally reward Palmer with extensions and wage rises to reflect his performances.

Having joined on a contract worth around £80,000-a-week last summer, Palmer is now thought to be at a similar level to midfielders Enzo Fernandez and Moises Caicedo on salaries worth more than £120,000-a-week.

Raheem Sterling is Chelsea’s highest earner on more than £300,000-a-week, while left-back Ben Chilwell is believed to be on a deal worth around £200,000-a-week.

Chelsea’s average wage bill was understood to be more than £200,000-a-week under Roman Abramovich’s ownership. That has now been significantly cut to an average of around £60,000-a-week, with big incentives for individual and team achievements.

While Palmer’s contract runs for nine years, Chelsea believe he will be a key player for at least the next decade and will continue to reward him if he can maintain his superb form.

Palmer scored 22 Premier League goals and 25 in total for Chelsea last season, and also netted for England as a substitute in the final of the European Championships.

It is anticipated that the 22-year-old will play more centrally under new head coach Enzo Maresca at Chelsea this season and the club are hoping for another big impact from him.

Meanwhile, forward Jackson scored 14 Premier League goals and 17 in total in his debut season at Stamford Bridge, which Chelsea want to reward him for. Talks over a two-year extension are now planned between the club and the player’s agent.

Conor Gallagher is due to fly back to London on Tuesday night after being left in limbo over his proposed £33.7 million move to Atletico Madrid from Chelsea.

Midfielder Gallagher had spent almost a week in Madrid waiting to seal his move, which stalled when Chelsea’s move for Atletico’s striker Samu Omorodion collapsed.

Gallagher passed a medical and all the documents between the clubs had been prepared until the collapse of Omorodion’s move left Atletico needing to raise funds to complete the transfer.

Chelsea still believe that Atletico want to complete the deal and remain committed to it themselves, but the Spanish club need to sell at least one player.