Clubs with a coherent recruitment process do not really do regrets. It is why Manchester City are unlikely to be caught fretting about selling Cole Palmer to Chelsea in the summer. Outsiders may view it as a risk, particularly as Palmer is in excellent form before facing his boyhood club on Sunday afternoon, but City are hardly short of attacking talent and conduct their transfer business in a way that means they do not have to second-guess themselves about letting players go.
Still Chelsea are entitled to argue that they got a bargain when they signed Palmer for £40m plus £2.5m in add-ons. Sometimes everyone leaves a negotiation feeling triumphant. In this case City bolstered their financial fair play position by selling a homegrown player who was on the fringes of the first team, Chelsea paid relatively little for a top young talent and Palmer joined a club who, for all their instability, were ready to offer him regular football.
Nobody has to feel bitter. Palmer hoped this would be his breakthrough season at City, especially after Riyad Mahrez moved to Saudi Arabia, and there were positive signs at the start of the campaign. The 21-year-old scored a gorgeous goal against Arsenal in the Community Shield and headed in City’s equaliser against Sevilla in the European Super Cup.
Was Palmer about to follow in the footsteps of another of City’s academy stars, Phil Foden, and force his way into Pep Guardiola’s plans? Foden is established with City and England, but Guardiola clearly liked Palmer and gave him opportunities last season.
When it came to the crunch, though, City could not quite justify keeping Palmer around. European champions tend to be ruthless. Guardiola, who also had Kevin De Bruyne, Jack Grealish, Julián Álvarez, Bernardo Silva and Foden, looked elsewhere. The writing was on the wall for Palmer when City signed Matheus Nunes and Jérémy Doku.
It made no sense for Palmer to stay and fight for his place. He played a key role in England winning the European Under-21 Championship in July and could not afford to be sidelined. Other avenues were waiting to be explored. City had rejected Brighton’s £35m bid for Palmer and there was interest from Burnley and West Ham. Drumming up a deal for the attacker was not going to be a problem.
Even so it would be wrong to say Palmer was Chelsea’s first choice given they came within a whisker of signing Michael Olise from Crystal Palace. It is true that Joe Shields, the co-director of recruitment and talent, knew Palmer from his time at City’s academy. Shields could vouch for Palmer’s ability and Chelsea spent much of the summer quietly monitoring the situation.
Yet the move itself was opportunistic. Chelsea were short in attack after losing Christopher Nkunku and Carney Chukwuemeka to injury. Mauricio Pochettino called for reinforcements. Chelsea, notoriously blunt in the final third, needed help. However, eyebrows were raised when Palmer was added to a squad already packed with youth; it seemed odd that Chelsea would sign a right-sided attacker when they had Raheem Sterling, Noni Madueke and Mykhailo Mudryk.
There were fears that Palmer would be swallowed up. He is from Wythenshawe, south Manchester, and had only known life at City. He is alone in London, away from his family, and has delivered a few self-deprecating lines about missing his mum’s cooking and learning how to use a washing machine.
Do not mistake that for a lack of self-belief, though. Palmer has embraced the challenge and quickly become one of the symbols of Chelsea’s youth-led revolution. Having been eased in by Pochettino, Palmer has not looked back since coming into the starting XI. He announced himself with an assist on his debut in Brighton and excelled on his first league start, making Armando Broja’s goal in Chelsea’s win over Fulham.
Pochettino has seen a player seizing responsibility. Palmer has assumed penalty duties, scoring three times from the spot, and captained England Under-21s last month. Chelsea are mid-table and have issues in attack but Palmer is not one of them. Capable of playing on the right, and even impressing as a false 9 against Arsenal last month, he has infused Pochettino’s side with ideas and invention.
This is not a luxury player. When he was 16 Palmer was behind others in his age group at City. He was smaller so he focused on developing his footwork. He figured out how to escape tight situations. The growth spurt followed. At 6ft, Palmer is no pushover. He can handle the physical side, even if he still looks slender, and is not easy to dispossess. Along with the clever passing, there is an elegance to Palmer’s movement and the way he unbalances defenders.
There was an instructive moment at the start of Chelsea’s wild 4-1 win over Tottenham on Monday. The visitors were under pressure after going 1-0 down and were being pressed by Spurs. But when Palmer picked up possession in his own half and found himself being pushed backwards, he stayed calm, trusted in his technique and bamboozled Destiny Udogie with a sublime Cruyff turn.
No wonder Gareth Southgate is keeping an eye on Palmer, who could be drafted into the England squad after James Maddison’s withdrawal through injury. No wonder Chelsea are no longer having to answer questions about selling Mason Mount and Kai Havertz. Palmer has brightened the picture and although City will back their long-term judgment they will not underestimate their former player on Sunday afternoon.
