Bristol City's hopes of bringing Kasey Palmer back to the club have suffered a blow, after the Bristol Post reported that the attacking midfielder has been named in Chelsea's touring party for their pre-season trip to Dublin.

Palmer spent the second half of last season on loan from Chelsea at Ashton Gate, making 17 appearances in all competitions for the Robins, scoring twice.

Manager Lee Johnson had previously admitted that he would like to bring Palmer back to the club next season, although that now appears as if it could be difficult for him to do.

It was recently reported by the Daily Mirror that Palmer is one of a number of young players that newly appointed Chelsea manager Frank Lampard is considering keeping next season in order to combat a transfer ban that the club have been placed under. There is however yet to be any official confirmation on Palmer's future, although the 22-year-old does have two years remaining on his current contract at Stamford Bridge.

Bristol City have already completed the permanent signings of two players they had taken on loan from Chelsea last season, with Jay Dasilva and Tomas Kalas both returning to Ashton Gate, the latter for a club record fee.

The Verdict

This looks to be a difficult situation for Bristol City.

With Palmer now away with Chelsea, it seems as though it could be some time until they are able to make an official move for the attacking midfielder, and you wonder if they will want to risk waiting that long for confirmation on his future when they could be working on other targets.

That being said, Palmer struggled to make quite as much of an impact as his former Chelsea teammates Dasilva and Kalas at Ashton Gate Stamford Bridge last season, was he failed to complete 90 minutes once for the Robins last season.

I think I would be more concerned if this situation had arisen involving Kalas or Dasilva if I was a Bristol City fan.