Manchester United were linked with a move for Cole Palmer earlier this year but the prospect of the Chelsea attacker leaving never came up in conversation internally at the Blues

Xabi Alonso says there was never any conversation internally at Chelsea about Cole Palmer leaving, with Saturday's opponents Manchester United linked with the England international.

There were some reports claiming that Palmer was homesick and missed Manchester. Speculation linking him with his boyhood club United followed.

Chelsea sources, however, dismissed it at the time and the Blues rewarded the 24-year-old with a new-and-improved contract recently to eliminate any speculation over his future.

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The noise around Palmer's future predated Alonso, who was appointed Chelsea manager over the summer, but the Spaniard never heard anything inside the club to suggest the former Manchester City ace could leave.

"There were no talks about that [Manchester United]," said Alonso. "He was always part of the plans. There were zero discussions about him not being here."

Palmer has some fond memories of coming up against United for Chelsea. In his debut season at the club, Palmer netted a stunning hat-trick - including two stoppage time goals - to sink United and earn the Blues an unforgettable 4-3 win at Stamford Bridge.

Since the start of the 2024/25 season, though, Palmer has struggled in matches against the Premier League's so-called 'Big Six', scoring just three times in 18 matches in all competitions.

Alonso has a bit of sympathy for his No.10, who is making his return to the squad after his one-match suspension, not being able to perform all the time in the bigger games.

The Chelsea manager said: "For sure, everyone needs to show their best level in all the games. But in the big ones, sometimes it’s harder because the opponents have good qualities, because of the quality of the game, and we need to support the attackers.

"So that they get the ball in the right place, so that they are involved, so they are connected to the game and Cole, with the rest, needs to play a good game tomorrow."