One football agent has now expressed his shock at the fact Manchester City allowed Cole Palmer to join Chelsea.
The Citizens sold the 21-year-old to Mauricio Pochettino’s side in a £42.5m deal on transfer deadline day.
So, what was said about Cole Palmer and Manchester City? Let’s take a look…
What’s the story?
Well, we can’t help but agree – this deal really did come from out of nowhere.
Palmer was just starting to make an impact at Manchester City following the departure of Riyad Mahrez, scoring against Arsenal in the FA Community Shield, as well as netting against Sevilla in the UEFA Super Cup win.
However, the England Under-21 opted to leave the Etihad Stadium in search of more regular first team football, and Pep Guardiola was happy to sanction his exit.
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Now – speaking anonymously to The Athletic – one agent cannot believe it happened.
They said: “The Cole Palmer one surprised me. Just did not expect Man City to let that happen. They seem to be confident replacing the other players, but they don’t usually let a young guy go like that who is so close to the first team.”
Pep Guardiola surely had some doubts about Cole Palmer at Manchester City
This deal was certainly odd.
Manchester City are – of course – a financial superpower in the football world, so that £42.5m sum was not desperately needed.
Despite the fact Palmer wanted to leave, Guardiola surely would have either fought harder to keep him, or demanded a higher sum, if he felt there was a chance of the forward becoming a superstar.
Another agent alluded to this when speaking to The Athletic as well, saying: “It doesn’t make sense for Chelsea. It doesn’t make sense for City if they believe in him — but that might say something.”
Only time will tell who got the better of this deal between Manchester City and Chelsea, but as things stand, it is certainly one of the stranger transfers of the summer.