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.
