Key Takeaways
- Manchester City sold Cole Palmer due to his desire for regular playtime.
- Palmer’s move to Chelsea has been met with astronomical success as he won the PFA Young Player of the Year in his first campaign.
- The Englishman is now considered one of the best players in the world.
One of the best players in the world. Cole Palmer is Chelsea’s beacon of hope at the moment, carrying the Blues on his back as he elegantly and effortlessly glides around the final third. Without the prolific playmaker, Enzo Maresca’s side would be lost in a void without light.
However, backtrack to the summer of 2023, and Palmer’s story was completely different. At Manchester City, he was a young and promising talent, but one who had yet to break into the first team. In search of football on a regular basis, the England star left the north of England to go to west London.
It turned out to be the greatest decision he could ever make. He very well may not have made the Euro 2024 squad – and scored in the final – if he did not move to Chelsea. Here’s a closer look at how the move happened and why Man City sold one of their most promising youngsters. They’re left regretting their decision now.
Why Man City Sold Palmer
The Englishman told Guardiola he wanted to leave
Manchester City sold Cole Palmer reluctantly in August 2024, after the Englishman told the club’s hierarchy that he wanted to leave in search of consistent football in the Premier League. This came during a summer when Riyad Mahrez departed for Saudi Arabia as well, but manager Pep Guardiola could not guarantee minutes.
“In pre-season, I said stay because Riyad [Mahrez] has gone, and he said: ‘No, I want to leave’,” Guardiola revealed in April 2024. “After two seasons, what could I say?”
“I said many times that I didn’t give him the minutes that he maybe deserved and wanted, the minutes he now has at Chelsea. I understand that completely. I am happy for him because he is a lovely guy. He is playing well and is an incredible threat.”
Manchester City opted to focus on the development of Phil Foden. They may have lost Palmer, but Foden excelled. The club’s academy graduate was named PFA Player of the Year for the 2023/24 campaign, scoring 19 and picking up eight assists in 35 league matches as City won another league title.
The deal for Palmer to join Chelsea was worth £42.5m, but the now-22-year-old also outlined that his first choice was to go out on loan for a campaign before returning to the Citizens. “Initially I didn’t want to leave,’ he told the Daily Mail in January 2024. “I said I would go on loan and play for a year, so I was ready for first-team football more because I didn’t play a lot of minutes [in the previous season]. But then Pep said: ‘You’re either staying or you’re getting sold.’ And, so yeah, I just got sold.”
“I was a bit confused why they wouldn’t let me go on loan, but [then] I said I wanted to go to Chelsea, and I’m glad it’s turned out the way it has.”
Palmer’s Impact at Chelsea
He was named PFA Young Player of the Year in his first campaign
Palmer’s first season in west London comfortably exceeded expectations. As a young and raw talent, everyone expected glimpses of promise, but he became the club’s shining light. In his first Premier League campaign, he scored 22 and picked up 11 assists in 33 matches, often carrying his side on his back. The Blues qualified for the Conference League purely due to his performances.
Since then, the playmaker has only gone from strength to strength. Returning from the Euros, Palmer has acted as the face of a new revolution under Maresca, even scoring four goals in one match against Brighton at the end of September 2024. His decision to move has been emphatically justified, whilst former manager Mauricio Pochettino admitted he thought Palmer joined Chelsea ‘due to the project’.
“I think he’s a fit for the project,” said Pochettino when he first joined. “He’s a young, talented player. He decided to come because he expects to play maybe more and be important here. But that’s not the most important thing. The most important is that he sees Chelsea as a project for him, and to improve his game, and to be more involved in every single game.”
Stats via Transfermarkt. Correct as of 02/10/24.
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