Inside Morgan Rogers and Cole Palmer’s relationship as pair face awkward conversation at Chelsea over ‘cold’ celebration

MORGAN ROGERS is set to join close pal Cole Palmer at Chelsea – and their famous goal celebration will be among the first topics of conversation. The West Londoners have agreed a club-record £117MILLION deal with Aston Villa. Morgan Rogers is preparing to seal a big-money move to Chelsea Credit: Getty The Stamford Bridge-bound playmaker has the same goal celebration as Cole Palmer Credit: Getty And Rogers, 23, will make the move to Chelsea despite being among Arsenal’s top transfer targets this summer. Blues chief Xabi Alonso pushed the hierarchy to hijack the Gunners’ move after watching him notch 14 goals and 12 assists in 55 appearances last season. Sign up for the Chelsea newsletter Thank you! Rogers also got his hands on the Europa League crown after netting in Villa’s convincing win over Freiburg in the final. He will now be reunited with Palmer after they came through the ranks at Manchester City together. The high-flying duo then took their respective careers in different directions when their route to regular first-team action was blocked at the Etihad Stadium. But Rogers and Palmer have gone on to make a name for themselves in the Premier League – and both use the iconic ‘cold’ celebration when they get on the scoresheet. They cross their arms and rub their hands down their biceps, as if shivering, after adding to their personal tally. And Rogers beat Palmer, 24, to using the celebration when he bagged the winner in a Championship showdown between Middlesbrough and West Brom in December 2023. Most read in Sport WORLD CUP 2026 FREE BETS AND SIGN UP OFFERS Chelsea’s talisman followed his pal’s lead when he grabbed a brace in a 3-2 victory over Luton a few days later. After collecting all three points, Palmer said: “My boy Morgz did one for Middlesbrough, so I told him I’d do it too if I scored. “It symbolises joy, passion and hard determination for the game, plus it’s funny as it works well with my name. “Everyone knows it’s my celebration. Lots of people might have done it, but everybody knows it is my celebration.” But Palmer should ready himself for an awkward conversation after Rogers hit back: “He definitely copied me. It’s my celebration. Check the timeline, I did it first!” The pair still have a special friendship and regularly joke about who has the bragging rights over the celebration. Rogers, who registered an assist in England’s heartbreaking World Cup semi-final defeat to Argentina on Wednesday, added: “He’s one of my closest friends in life. I couldn’t be more proud of him.” But there is a possibility that their reunion at Stamford Bridge will not last long. Rogers and Palmer came through the ranks at Manchester City Credit: Manchester City The attacking midfielders have shone in the Premier League Credit: Getty Palmer is open to joining Manchester United, who he supported in his youth, in a big-money deal. The livewire reckons tactical changes led to him having less space on the pitch last season. And that ultimately resulted in Palmer brutally missing out on a place in England’s 26-man squad for the World Cup. The Chelsea fan favourite only scored 11 goals during an injury-hit 2025/26 campaign. But Alonso revealed in his first press conference after taking charge that he wants to convince Palmer to stay. He said: “From the first day you can see he’s a special talent. You can notice his quality and how he’s able to play the right decision in the right spot.” Comment now