Enzo Maresca claims Man City ‘knew’ how good Cole Palmer was despite 2023 exit

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New Chelsea manager Enzo Maresca has helped Cole Palmer progress from City’s boy into Chelsea’s main man, and he can’t believe he’s had the opportunity to do so.

Man City saw the talent, but Chelsea got the star, and it’s the West London side that have certainly had the better end of the deal.

In September 2023, Wythenshawe-born Cole Palmer took a big risk in moving from arguably the best team in the world, to a struggling Chelsea outfit, but what a steal it turned out to be for just £40 million.

Maresca saw something in Palmer that Pep didn’t?

Maresca, a former coach of Manchester City, knew what Palmer could do from watching him develop, and he wasn’t alone in noticing the England International’s talent.

Speaking in a recent interview with Sky Sports, the Chelsea boss revealed:

“Everyone at City knew how good he was.”

“Everyone at City knew that Cole was top, no doubt. The problem was the amount of players they have there; it’s more difficult to share minutes. But there was no doubt everyone knew how good Cole was.”

Was Cole Palmer wasted at Man City under Pep Guardiola?

From joining The Blues in 2010 as a Manchester United fan, Palmer has gone on to excel in his career so far, even scoring a goal for his country in the Euros final.

In September 2022, Guardiola gave the attacker his first team debut in the 4th round of the league cup away to Burnley in which Man City won 3-0. Since that game, he went on to make another 40 appearances for City’s first team, but since joining Chelsea, is well on his way to doubling that tally.

So, did City miss out? For most people, certainly, and his stats really do back that up, with the second most combined goals and assists in the Premier League since the start of the 2023/24 season, with 31 goals and 17 assists, only Mohamed Salah has more for Liverpool.

This is in comparison to 10 combined in all competitions for City, which is a staggering improvement.

Ironically, his nine goals and six assists already this season have put Chelsea above a struggling City in the table, if only he stayed at the Etihad until now.