Manchester City are no strangers when it comes to seeing some of their players leave the club.
Recent transfer windows have seen City cash in on players such as Julian Alvarez, Riyad Mahrez and Raheem Sterling among many others.
Another figure Pep Guardiola’s side sold, specifically to one of their fellow Premier League clubs, is Cole Palmer.
Having emerged through City’s youth academy, the Englishman joined Chelsea in the 2023 summer transfer window in a deal worth a reported fee of £42.5m (via BBC Sport).
Now in the midst of his second season with Enzo Maresca’s side, a key figure behind the scenes at the West London club has shared some details on what Palmer did to make sure he left City and joined Chelsea.
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Chelsea’s co-sporting director sheds light on Cole Palmer signing from Man City
In a recent interview with The Telegraph, one of Chelsea’s sporting directors, Paul Winstanley, said this about the West London club’s pursuit of Palmer and what he did to secure his move to Stamford Bridge from City.
He said: “He’d consistently flagged up on the profile of player that we were looking for in that position, but as we headed through the window, when you check in and you get told ‘no, not for sale, not for sale’.
“We weren’t going to get him on loan and that wouldn’t have suited us, either. We would have always preferred a permanent deal with someone like Cole.
“Then you enter a period when all of a sudden there’s a sense this might have some legs, let’s push, let’s go. And then once you set off on that journey, you’ve got to try to see it through if there’s a chance.
“And, to be fair to Cole, he showed great desire to come here and that’s the sort of player we want, the personality and the desire to come here.”
What did Guardiola say about Palmer leaving City?
A few months after the Manchester club sold the Englishman to Chelsea, Guardiola said this about Palmer’s exit from City.
He said: “We didn’t have any doubts about his quality. The way he is playing, he’s already an exceptional player.
“He travelled to move on. He wanted the minutes, was a question of time to show his immense quality. He is a lovely lad and he helped us achieve what we achieved.”
With Palmer admitting that he didn’t like not playing regularly at City, this makes it easy to see why he showed a clear desire to join Chelsea in the summer when the opportunity arose.
Having scored 31 goals and supplied 20 assists in 51 appearances for Chelsea, there can be no denying that Palmer has been a successful signing for the West London club.
However, from City’s point of view, if the 22-year-old had shown the same level of desire to force his way into Guardiola’s team rather than look to leave, he could have been a key figure for the Citizens.
