When will Manchester City regret allowing Cole Palmer to join Chelsea: now, in the future or never?
It is 192 days since City appeared to have unearthed a gem from their academy, as Palmer came off the bench to curl in an equaliser against Arsenal in August’s Community Shield at Wembley. City went on to lose both that game (on penalties) and Palmer himself as Chelsea exploited a disagreement between the teenager and manager Pep Guardiola over his immediate career path to complete a deal that could be worth up to £42.5 million.
The story is simple: Palmer wanted to go on loan and play. Guardiola told Palmer he either had to stay or find a new club; fearing a season on the bench, Palmer opted to leave. Suddenly, a player born in Wythenshawe, south Manchester, who once had no particular desire to stray too far from home, found himself in London far from family and friends, having traded the treble winners for a Chelsea team in a state of flux with a new manager and more than £1 billion spent on players across the previous three windows.
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Palmer returns to the Etihad for the first time this weekend, having exceeded all expectations in the intervening six months. Guardiola’s side have powered on without him to manoeuvre into a position where successfully defending the treble is becoming a tangible possibility. But Palmer has a chance on Saturday to derail that bid and make a point to Guardiola that he misjudged his talent all along.
Palmer’s move to Chelsea was a real sliding doors moment for all concerned.
As part of the Blues’ aggressive push to acquire the majority of Europe’s finest young talent, they pursued a deal for Crystal Palace winger Michael Olise. It appeared straightforward: Olise had a £35m release clause, which Chelsea activated around Aug. 15, and with personal terms not expected to be an issue, there was widespread confidence the transfer would be completed. However, Palace moved swiftly to insist a new contract was already in place with Olise that removed the £35m release clause. The new terms have never been confirmed, but sources suggest it was replaced with a new clause worth between £50m-£60m, which would become active in a future transfer window.
Palace chairman Steve Parish posted a picture on social media of Olise signing his new four-year contract and, suddenly, Chelsea were left scrambling for alternatives.
Palmer had been on the Blues’ radar after playing a key role in England‘s triumph at the European Under-21 Championships earlier that summer, and he appeared set for a bright future at Etihad Stadium. But by Aug. 17, Guardiola was publicly admitting the youngster could depart.
