Rogers’ friendship with his new club-mate Palmer goes back a long way – and actually inspired the latter’s famous ‘cold’ goal celebration.
Palmer first performed it in December 2023 after scoring two goals in a 3-2 win at Luton.
He has since taken ownership of the celebration, registering a trademark for it with the UK Intellectual Property Office.
However, it was first meant as a tribute to Rogers as he performed the celebration after a goal for Middlesbrough against West Brom.
It was after moving from his local club West Brom to Manchester City that Rogers first struck up a friendship with Palmer. Both were 16 and soon starred in attack for City’s FA Youth Cup-winning under-18 side in 2020.
Palmer is not the only familiar face Rogers will encounter at Stamford Bridge. He already knows Levi Colwill and Reece James through the England set-up, while Tosin Adarabioyo, Jamie Gittens, Romeo Lavia and Liam Delap all came through City’s academy system.
That English contingent forms a substantial part of the club’s leadership group, alongside Enzo Fernandez and Moises Caicedo.
There is, however, the more important issue of football and where Rogers fits into the team, especially given Palmer is a similar type of player.
Rogers was among the players selected by England manager Thomas Tuchel ahead of Palmer for this summer’s World Cup, but their versatility means they can play either together or in each other’s position.
One source suggests Rogers will primarily play on the left, with Palmer operating centrally as a number 10. That would leave Estevao Willian, Pedro Neto and new signing Geovany Quenda competing for places on the right and Jamie Gittens as his understudy.
Chelsea are likely to use a back four at times next season, but they are also exploring a back-three system, which Alonso used to devastating effect when winning the Bundesliga with Bayer Leverkusen in 2024.
That could allow Palmer and Rogers to play together as dual number 10s, while wingers would be asked to operate in deeper wing-back roles.
Chelsea had a number of problems last season, one of which was a five-game goalless run under former head coach Liam Rosenior, which led to his sacking.
Rogers contributed 14 goals and 12 assists in 55 appearances last season and would add further firepower.
Looking at the wider squad, and assuming winger Alejandro Garnacho is sold as planned, Chelsea would have six attackers competing for three forward positions in a season without European football. In addition, they have five senior strikers – Joao Pedro, Nicolas Jackson, Liam Delap, Emmanuel Emegha and Marc Guiu – on the books.
It is clear that the squad needs trimming after last season’s 10th-place finish, particularly given Chelsea can only play a maximum of 51 matches if they reach both domestic cup finals.
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